Clay is months away, but Ben Shelton is ready

HIGHLIGHTS: Ben Shelton goes deep at the Australian Open

I’m really looking forward to the clay. . .I’m looking forward to being able to use the higher bounces to my advantage, moving, sliding. I’m really looking forward to getting on the red clay. Newly minted American star Ben Shelton, after his quarterfinal loss to compatriot Tommy Paul at the Australian Open

It wasn’t so long ago that the very mention of red clay was enough to send shivers down the spines of Americans on tour. Weaned on grass and hard courts, they had scant opportunity to fall in love with European clay and, usually, little chance of success—if they were even open to giving it a go. The aggressive, attacking style and volleying proficiency so central to the American game just didn’t lend itself to the slow dirt of the Foro Italico, or at Roland Garros.

Things have changed, though, as 20-year old Ben Shelton’s enthusiasm attests. It isn’t that Shelton’s game is especially suited to clay. With his monstrous serve, huge forehand, and bounding athleticism, Shelton could be taken for a player developed in southern California in the 1970s. His optimism is more a matter of his attitude, and the evolution of the game.

Shelton isn’t the only one who has reason to look forward to the coming Euroclay season. The fleet of American men are off to a great start this year, and all of them have either tasted some success on clay or are proficient on the surface.

Shelton isn’t the only one who has reason to look forward to the coming Euroclay season. The fleet of American men are off to a great start this year, and all of them have either tasted some success on clay or are proficient on the surface.

“There’s this sense of ‘I love playing on clay’ with these guys,” USTA Player Development Lead National Coach David Nainkin told me shortly after the Australian Open. “To be good on clay you need to be a great athlete, and these guys are. They move really well, and having had that exposure [to clay] at a young age in Europe led them to embrace it.”

The 2015 French Open boys’ champion Tommy Paul and runner-up Taylor Fritz were part of a pioneering generation that traveled to Europe frequently in order to train and compete as juniors on clay. That was just one of the USTA’s clay initiatives and, as Nainkin said, “that shift in our priorities helped change the culture and outlook of these guys. To succeed, you have to like the clay, but you also have to like being in Europe for an extended period of time. Taylor wanted to stay in Europe for every tournament after Monte Carlo and Frances [Tiafoe] was the same. They love being in Europe.”

At roughly the same time, the gap in court speeds was steadily closing, as hard courts and Wimbledon’s grass began to play slower. Changes in training methods and even equipment also made the all-court game more viable on red clay. The dreaded “clay-court specialist,” whose defensive, rally-based game drove inventive, aggressive players crazy, is now as extinct as the dodo—as is the serve-and-volley expert. The all-court game has conquered all.

Although Shelton’s trip to Australia was his first that required a passport, he has already done some training blocks on the USTA’s main campus on Orlando, where the USTA presciently installed clay courts—“Italian red,” Shelton said, as if describing a wine. ESPN analyst and well-traveled coach Brad Gilbert likes Shelton’s prospects on clay. He told me shortly after the Australian Open: “With that bomb of a serve and his excellent movement, Shelton could be very interesting on clay.”

Gilbert, who was in his heyday as a player in the late 1980s, played in four Masters 1000 finals (winning one) but made it as far as the third round at the French Open just once in eight tries. Despite his own frustrations on clay, Gilbert orchestrated Andre Agassi’s win at the 1999 French Open, which completed the American’s career Grand Slam. By then, Gilbert was sure of one thing: “We [Americans] weren’t going to get into the mix at the top until our guys got good on clay.”

The players who will be carrying U.S. hopes into the spring are a far cry from generations of Americans whose efforts on clay were half-hearted, or who struggled to dent the draws at Euroclay events. According to Gilbert, too few of them had the proper, early training to develop the kind of tactical and technical discipline required for success on clay.

“Too many of our guys were just a serve and forehand.” Gilbert said. “Now a lot more of our guys are more athletic so they can do more things. The cool thing about the current players is that they all play differently. They’re not the same type of players, and that’s interesting to watch.”

The players to watch, in addition to Fritz, Paul and Tiafoe, include 22-year old Sebastian Korda, who made his Grand Slam breakthrough when he reached the fourth round of the French Open in 2020; Jenson Brooksby, Shelton, JJ Wolf, and Brandon Nakashima—all Top 50 players. If there’s a sleeper in the cohort, it’s No. 49-ranked Reilly Opelka, who has been ranked as high as No. 17 but has been out with injury since last summer.

Players get a great emotional benefit when their nation is well represented in the draw at a tournament. The U.S. has 16 players whose current rankings would guarantee direct entry into the French Open—it’s a far cry from the past. A lot can still happen before the clay swing kicks off, including two hard-court Masters 1000s. But everyone is already looking forward to the next major—the one that American pros once dreaded.

“We had a long period when guys almost skipped the clay season entirely,” Gilbert said. “Several years ago you had maybe one or two guys in some of the big draws. They felt lonely. It doesn’t look like anybody will be feeling lonely this year.”