Ben Shelton enjoyed a lengthy run at the Australian Open, but his Grand Slam dreams were abruptly ended by Jannik Sinner.
Two-time defending champion Sinner beat Shelton in the quarterfinals, winning their Rod Laver Arena clash 6-3, 6-4, 6-4.
Sinner now takes on Novak Djokovic in the semifinals of the Australian Open, while Carlos Alcaraz and Alexander Zverev are in the other.
Shelton meanwhile will leave Melbourne with plenty on his mind, having once again fallen short against one of the leading players on the ATP Tour.
Ben Shelton fuelled by failure after Australian Open exit
Despite his exit and indeed the straightforward manner of his defeat against Sinner, Shelton is remaining upbeat.
The American has shared images of his time at the tournament on Instagram, with the caption: “Failure only fuels me. Thanks Melbourne.”
It’s certainly a very healthy and positive attitude to have, and he can indeed hold his head high given that he was beaten only by the two-time defending champion.
Is Ben Shelton the leading contender to challenge Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz?
While Shelton is upbeat, the American will be fully aware that he needs to up his game in order to challenge the big two.
That has been a problem for every player on the ATP Tour in recent times, but Shelton finds himself among a select group in that regard.
He looks like representing one of the only players who will be able to challenge the dominance of the current big two, who won’t be going away any time soon.
Moreover, he may just be the leading candidate, although the likes of Felix Auger-Aliassime, Joao Fonseca and Alex de Minaur may disagree.
More experienced duo Zverev and Djokovic may have similar opinions, particularly given that they are still going strong in Melbourne while Shelton isn’t.
But Zverev is likely heading out of his prime, and Djokovic has certainly passed that stage of his career, with 23-year-old Shelton seemingly only just getting started.
READ MORE: Ben Shelton says if he thinks he’s actually improving after defeat to Jannik Sinner in straight sets
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