Pushing Ben Shelton to the Edge at Indian Wells Earns 18YO Wonderkid a New Fan in Coco Gauff’s Legendary Coach

Ben Shelton created a name for himself by giving a lot of top tennis players an edge on the court! However, at the Indian Wells tournament, a new narrative emerges as someone else steps forward to challenge him. As the 21-year-old American tennis player competes in his first-round match against Jakub Menšík, it becomes apparent that he’s facing stiff competition. Meanwhile, Menšík has got Coco Gauff’s coach supporting him!

Recently, Coco Gauff’s esteemed coach, Brad Gilbert, has lauded the 18-year-old Czech tennis player for his formidable performance against Shelton. Let’s take a look at what the legendary coach has to say about the class between the young tennis sensations.

Coco Gauff’s coach praises Ben Shelton’s opponent  

Recently, as the American tennis player started with his first clash with the American Swing, all eyes were on him. But now his opponent has grasped all the attention by giving him tough competition, just moving into the second round of the Indian Wells Masters.

Looking into that, recently, Shelton’s tennis friend Gauff’s coach took to his Twitter account to share his take on the clash of young players and even praised the 18-year-old for his game. He wrote, “There are bunch of good teenagers all of sudden in men’s 18 year Czech Mensik who definitely 💯 needs a nic name, has big-time game the Prototype size at 6’4ish, interesting 🧐 1st set so for vs Gimme Shelton.”

With the sarcastic remark, the American coach highlighted that suddenly there are a lot of good teenagers in the men’s section of the sport. And just like how a lot of young players, including the 21-year-old, have a nickname, ‘Gimme Shelton’ looking into his on-court performance, there should be a nickname for Jakub Menšík too, as he described his qualities at their best.

However, this is not the first time he has appreciated the younger generation rising into this sport. While recently he praised the 16th-ranked tennis player’s opponent, last year there was a time when he applauded Shelton, considering his growth in the tennis arena.

“he’s already in the top 50” – Gilbert shared his thoughts on Shelton’s athletic growth 

One of the podcast’s episodes, “Holding Court with Patrick McEnroe,” included Brad Gilbert, the well-known former coach of Andre Agassi, praising emerging American tennis player Ben Shelton. He said, “There’s a lot of growth upside in his game, I think that the next one now who’s gonna make that deep run in… I’m left there thinking about Ben Shelton probably more than anybody. Thinking about his upside for potential and growth.” 

Gilbert lavished Shelton with compliments, declaring that of all the new young talent in the league, the rising ATP star had the greatest potential going forward. Further, he added, “But, just 5… I think it’s only 4 maybe its 5 pro-ATP events and he’s already in the top 50.”

However, it won’t be wrong to say that this recommendation from an accomplished coach such as Gilbert highlights Shelton’s growing stature in the tennis world and suggests that his career may have a bright future.

Nevertheless, what are your thoughts on Gilbert’s insight into the young tennis players’ battle? Do let us know in the comment section below.

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