"He wanted it bad": Ben Shelton regroups to survive in five against Bellucci at Wimbledon

WIMBLEDON—Unquestionably, Wimbledon is tennis’ grand theatre, the sport here as stately as it comes. But as Ben Shelton showed over the last two days, theatre can take on many forms.

On Monday night, he’d left Court 18 in both literal and figurative darkness, trailing two sets to one versus a qualifier and fellow lefthander, 148th-ranked Mattia Bellucci. “He was playing so well,” said Shelton. “Every ball that I hit big, he was hitting back bigger.”

Today, resuming the match roughly ten minutes short of 2:00 p.m., Shelton brought tons of the urgency that’s rapidly made him a Top 20 player, in the end earning a 4-6, 6-3, 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 victory. “I’m happy with the adjustments I made,” said Shelton. “I tried to play instead of just hit the ball.”

Shelton’s big change this Tuesday afternoon was a willingness to start altering speeds and spins, all part of an effort to get Bellucci off-balance. “I don’t see myself as just a ball-basher,” he said. “I play my best tennis when I’m able to open up angles and have a little more time to be creative.”

In the face of Shelton’s energy and versatility, Wimbledon’s penchant for understatement withered. “Go Gators!” yelled out a fan as Shelton took the court today; a reference to his roots in college tennis. Certainly, the roughly 800 spectators who packed Court 18 fed off Shelton’s zest. Be it the powerful topspin forehand, the backhand he can both drive with two hands or slice with one, or the improving net game (18 of 23 at the net during the last two sets), Shelton consistently gave those in the stands many awe-inspiring moments. And let’s not forget the massive serve. Shelton struck 19 aces, including on match point, that lefty favorite, a carved slice wide in the ad court at 120 m.p.h.

In each of the last two sets, Shelton started off with laser-like concentration. Winning this match was going to take some effort given Bellucci’s ability to whip his own lefty forehand and, at times, serve quite well. As John McEnroe once said, “Anyone who makes it out of the Wimbledon qualifying is a battle-tested tennis player.” Time and time again in this match, Bellucci had stuck in rallies just long enough to generate errors. Added to this was the natural awkwardness that occurs when two lefthanders play one another.

It was good and competitive. He wanted it bad. It was cool to see. —Ben Shelton

With Bellucci serving at 0-1 in the fourth, Shelton lined a backhand down-the-line winner that ostensibly won the set right then and there. Ditto for the fifth, which commenced with a Nadalesque crosscourt forehand passing shot and, eventually, what proved the decisive service break.

That said, two major factors kept Shelton from sprinting to the finish line. The fifth set was twice delayed by rain. Serving at 0-2, love-30 versus an increasingly red-hot Shelton, Bellucci carved an underhand serve, elicited a return error – at which point a drizzle caused a 15-20 minute delay. Once back on the court, Bellucci fought off two break points and eventually held.

A second delay came at a remarkably tense stage—with Shelton poised to serve for the match at 5-4. This one compelled the players to leave the court and at last return approximately 70 minutes later.

For all the assets Shelton brings, perhaps his strongest attribute is positive self-talk and high regard for the guy across the net. “It was good and competitive,” said Shelton. “He wanted it bad. It was cool to see.” At this stage of Shelton’s career, it’s impossible to imagine him ever becoming jaded. Consider Shelton an in-progress version of Carlos Alcaraz (of course, Alcaraz also views himself as in-progress).

“Ben just loves the atmosphere of competition,” said another big-serving American, ’72 Wimbledon champion Stan Smith, who was watching the match. Smith worked with Ben’s father and coach, Bryan, back in the ‘80s and exchanged a quick greeting with the victor following the match.

Come Wednesday, Shelton will play for the third straight day, this time versus No. 118, Lloyd Harris. On Monday, the qualifier rallied from two sets to love down to beat another young American, Alex Michelsen, in a fifth-set tiebreaker.