Ben Shelton n'avait gagné que deux matchs en deux participations à Roland-Garros, avant 2025. Alors au moment de se présenter face à Carlos Alcaraz en huitièmes de finale ce dimanche, il n'avait rien à perdre, après ses trois succès de la semaine. Décomplexé, l'Américain a fait vaciller le tenant du titre espagnol, jusqu'à se procurer trois balles de première manche. Finalement, l'Ibérique est resté solide, acceptant d'entrer dans une bataille féroce de plus de trois heures qu'il ne pouvait pas perdre. Le public du Chatrier en a pris pleins les yeux, et "Carlitos" a fini par lever les bras de soulagement (7-6(8), 6-3, 4-6, 6-4).
« Le tennis, partout & toujours ici », sur
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« Le tennis, partout & toujours ici », sur
https://www.tennisactu.net / Tennis Actu
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00:00BNP Paribas
00:10BNP Paribas, partenaire des plus belles histoires de Roland Garros,
00:14aux côtés des ramasseurs de balles depuis plus de 50 ans.
00:17Oui, positifs et négatifs, pros et cons à chaque match.
00:22Je pensais que mon niveau overall était bon.
00:25Je pensais que j'ai joué bien pour la majorité du match et que j'ai maintenu.
00:29J'ai maintenu mon niveau, qui je suis heureux.
00:33C'est toujours le toughest part de jouer.
00:35Pour les top guys, c'est qu'il y a pas de temps,
00:38et je suis heureux pour la part de mon jeu.
00:41Je suis heureux par la façon dont j'ai été le premier set.
00:45Je pense que pour moi, je me sens que dans les slams,
00:49si je peux le premier set, c'est un runaway train et c'est vraiment difficile.
00:58Je pense que c'est vraiment difficile.
01:00Je pense que c'est vraiment difficile.
01:02Je pense que c'est vraiment difficile.
01:04C'est vraiment difficile.
01:06C'est vraiment difficile.
01:08que j'ai joué un lead, je suis vraiment confident.
01:11Donc, vous savez, c'est la dernière fois que j'ai joué un champ à la slam,
01:16j'ai joué un centre en Australia et j'ai joué similar chances en la première set.
01:22Je pense que c'est difficile de perdre la première set en la même manière,
01:26parce que c'est un peu d'air de me.
01:28Mais, overall, je pense que j'ai joué great tennis.
01:32Je suis heureux avec l'évolution de ma clay court game.
01:36Je pense que c'est toujours ce que j'ai joué sur la table
01:40que j'ai joué en la tête et j'ai joué en train de travailler.
01:45Hey, Ben.
01:50Sorry.
01:52Nice effort.
01:54Two guys who've knocked you out of Grand Slams this year.
01:57You know, obviously, center and outgrass are pretty good.
02:00Do you feel like you're getting closer to them?
02:04I mean, and, you know, you look at results, you're a sports fan.
02:10You know, the whole, you are what your record says you are at the same time.
02:13You know, you're with yourself every day on the court.
02:16What do you feel like in terms of the gulf between you and the top?
02:21Yeah.
02:22I think, you know, executing in those small moments I just talked about
02:26is a step that I need to winning a match like that
02:30and taking the step to the next level.
02:34For me, this is the closest that I felt.
02:38Just talking about Alcaraz right now, but the closest that I felt
02:45in a match against him and the most pressure that I thought that I've applied,
02:52the most comfortable that I felt in the baseline exchanges,
02:57the best I've hit my open stands backhand when he's put pressure there.
03:01And, yeah, in that way also being a clay court is kind of ironic.
03:07and arguably his better surface and arguably my least experienced surface.
03:14There's a lot of positives to take from that because, yeah,
03:18I feel like my game is improving a lot.
03:23I don't want to be disrespectful and just be like, yeah, I'm right there.
03:30But I feel like I am close to starting to win some matches like that.
03:36Give guys run for their money more often and have these deeper runs more consistently.
03:44So, like you said, not two bad guys to lose to.
03:49The two matches I've lost at SLAMs this year, I consider myself a really good Grand Slam match player.
03:55And, yeah, hopefully I can, you know, continue to improve and take that next step
04:01because that's where I want to be.
04:03You just said that you were happy with the evolutions of your game on clay.
04:09Can you develop that?
04:11Name some things that were very challenging for you maybe two months ago
04:15and you have set up huge progress.
04:18Can you name some areas?
04:20Yeah, I think my movement is one.
04:23I think I'm moving better.
04:25Return to serve, another huge one, defending out of my backhand corner
04:29and being able to work from neutral to offense in the baseline exchange is huge for me.
04:36I think these are all things that if I played a guy like Cal Graz a year ago
04:41or two years ago it would be a pretty one-way street.
04:44And apart from me serving really well I would have had a really tough time in the rallies
04:50and I thought I did a much better job today in the baseline rallies.
04:58In the slice exchanges, the cat and mouse games, I felt more and more comfortable.
05:06And I think the better that I continue to improve my movement on the surface
05:10and clean up a few things with a serve and return a serve, I'm close to where I want to be.
05:16Hi, Ben.
05:19It looked from afar like you both were having a lot of fun out there.
05:27What did it feel like being out there, being on that court with that guy, going back and forth toe-to-toe with him?
05:37Can you enjoy it and maybe does that help bring out better tennis for you, do you think, when you're in that kind of environment?
05:47Yeah.
05:48I enjoyed it 100%.
05:49I think that's the type of match, the level of match, the type of play that I enjoy, you know.
05:57Hot shots on both sides.
06:01I thought a lot of great rallies and, yeah, that's, you know, the type of matches that you live for,
06:07the environments that at least I live for and, you know, the situations that you want to put yourself in more and more.
06:17And I just wanted to ask you about that point.
06:20I think it was the first game of the second set where he threw his racket, ball went over.
06:26Did you, could you tell immediately what had happened?
06:29Did you know it should be your point or what could you tell right in the moment?
06:35And what did you think when you realized he was walking to the chair to give you the point?
06:40For me, I was like, for me, I was like, of course, um, he hit a winner on that.
06:45But, uh, I thought it was clean.
06:49You know, I thought it, he hit the volley and the racket flew out of his hand.
06:54I was kind of surprised that he was like, no, I let go of the racket and threw it.
06:58Maybe slow motion, um, showed, sorry, sweating.
07:03Is that hot? Um, slow motion showed that, uh, I guess he did throw the racket.
07:12Um, so yeah, I guess I was surprised that he gave up the point.
07:15Uh, obviously a guy with a lot of sportsmanship.
07:18Um, that's never really an issue for him.
07:21So, um, yeah, crazy shot.
07:24It was one of those, I think Bublik had something similar against me.
07:27And, uh, Montreal where it's just like a ridiculous shot.
07:31Kind of sad that it doesn't count.
07:36Hey Ben, what's the hardest part about playing Carlos on clay at the moment?
07:42Um, you know, I always say that the best players on each surface is the best movers.
07:49I think his movement is elite, uh, the way that he can get back an extra ball, obviously the explosive tennis and the way that he can use the angles and, uh, open up the court is really, really difficult.
08:02And, uh, so I think all of those things combined, the athleticism, the, the feel up at the net, the touch and drop shots.
08:10It's, it's all kind of complete package.
08:15Hey man, what were played?
08:16Uh, just, you mentioned that your look back at the tape on this match.
08:20I'm curious, how much do you actually go and look back at the tape after wins and losses?
08:25And what's your like process for evaluating, you know, matches like this, particularly the ones against the top players?
08:30Yeah, I do it a lot.
08:32Um, I think it's great for me and, um, to be able to learn, especially when I'm playing against great players.
08:42Uh, but also how I handle those tight situations and matches where I play well and I don't win.
08:49It's like, okay, what happened in the, in the moment at six, five in the breaker?
08:53How did I lose that point?
08:54What serve did I go to?
08:55Um, did I miss my spot?
08:57Did I miss a first serve?
08:58Uh, for me that it's, it's those moments in the matches that matter the most and that come up.
09:04Uh, and, and I think that that's kind of the, the piece that I have to figure out.
09:12Um, one of the biggest parts of my evolution is how you play those clutch points where you serve in those clutch moments.
09:20And do you make the return in the clutch moments?
09:22And do you make the return in the clutch moments?
09:23So I'd say all that.
09:24Like, I could get rid of it.
09:28Yeah.
09:28Okay.
09:29Let's go into it.
09:30Let's enjoy this weird thing of it.
09:32Okay.
09:32Let's do it.
09:33Let's do it.
09:34Let's enjoy it.
09:35Let's do it series.
09:35Let's do it.
09:36I'll share it yet.
09:37Let's take aI.
09:50Let's do it.
09:51Now.