Ben Shelton had a blunt response for a journalist when asked if he knew how to close the gap between him and the current two top-ranked players in the game as the 23-year-old American suggested that it is wrong to think that Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner are the only quality competition he can face.
On Friday, Shelton concluded his 2025 ATP Finals campaign with a 0-3 record after Sinner handed him a 6-3 7-6 (3) defeat in Turin. For the world No. 5, it was his eighth consecutive loss to the four-time Grand Slam champion. A bit interestingly, the American won their first encounter at the 2023 Shanghai Masters, but hasn't won a set against the Italian since.
Versus Alcaraz, it is a similar story as this year's Australian Open semifinalist has three losses in as many matches.
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After losing to Sinner at the ATP Finals, one of the first questions that Shelton received was about closing the gap between him and the two top-ranked players in the game. The 23-year-old responded by stating that he was always looking to find ways to get closer to those above him. A few minutes later, the American was asked again the same question.
Shelton: You can't just look at it as 'those two'
"I mean, you can't just look at it as 'those two'. I think tennis is a matchup sport. If you look at the top four, they're all such different players, or top five, or top 10. Everybody is very different. Every matchup is going to be different," the three-time ATP champion underlined.
"There's certain things about matchups with certain players that I love. There is certain things they probably love against me and things that they hate. Trying to figure out how to be more disruptive looks different if you're talking about a Carlos or Sinner. Two completely different players. A Zverev, Fritz, Novak, any of the guys at the top of the game, there's going to be different solutions."
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For Shelton, it was certainly a positive 2025 since he made his maiden Australian Open final, won his first Masters title in Toronto, and achieved a career-high ranking of No. 5 in the world.
