ROLAND GARROS

June 1, 2025

Ben Shelton

Press Conference

C. ALCARAZ/B. Shelton

7-6, 6-3, 4-6, 6-4

THE MODERATOR: Sorry, Ben. That was a battle. Can you tell us, walking off of the court, how are you feeling?

BEN SHELTON: Yeah, positives and negatives, pros and cons to every match. I thought my overall level was good. I thought I played well for the majority of the match and maintained my level, which I'm happy about.

It's always the toughest part of playing the top guys is staying there over time. I was happy about that part of my game. Disappointed about the way the first set ended. I think that for me I always feel that in the slams, if I can get the first set, it's kind of a runaway train, and it's really tough. I make it really tough on the opponent, especially if I keep that level.

Getting into the fourth or fifth set, if I have a lead, I feel really confident. You know, coming off the last time I played a defending champ at a slam, being Sinner in Australia and having similar chances in the first set, it's kind of frustrating to lose the first set in the same way, because it takes a bit of air out of me.

Overall I thought I played great tennis. I'm happy with the evolution of my clay court game. Yeah, I think there's still some stuff that I left on the table that I'm looking forward to looking at the tape and trying to improve.

THE MODERATOR: Questions.

Q. Two guys have knocked you out of Grand Slams this year. Obviously Sinner and Alcaraz are pretty good. Do you feel like you're getting closer to them? You look at results. You're a sports fan. You know, you are what your record says you are at the same time. You are with yourself every day on the court. What do you feel like in terms of the gulf between you and the top?

BEN SHELTON: Yeah. I think executing in the small moments I just talked about is a step that I need to winning a match like that and taking the step to the next level.

For me, this is the closest that I've felt -- just talking about Alcaraz right now -- the closest that I've felt in a match against him, and the most pressure that I thought that I've applied, the most comfortable that I felt in the baseline exchanges, the best I've hit my open-stance backhand when he's put pressure there.

In that way, it also being a clay court is kind of ironic, arguably his better surface, and arguably my least-experienced surface. There's a lot of positives to take from that because, yeah, I feel like my game is improving a lot.

I don't want to be disrespectful and just be, like, yeah, I'm right there, but I feel like I am close to starting to win some matches like that, give guys a run for their money more often, and have these deeper runs more consistently. So, like you said, not two bad guys to lose to. Those two matches I've lost at slams this year, I consider myself a really good Grand Slam match player. Yeah, hopefully I can continue to improve and take that next step, because that's where I want to be.

Q. You just said that you were happy with the evolution of your game on clay. Can you name something that were very challenging for you maybe two months ago and you have set up huge progress? Can you name some areas?

BEN SHELTON: Yeah, I think my movement is one. I think I'm moving better. Return of serve, another huge one, defending out of my backhand corner, and being able to work from neutral to offense in the baseline exchange is huge for me.

I think these are all things that if I played a guy like Alcaraz a year ago or two years ago, it would be a pretty one-way street. And apart from me serving really well, I would have had a really tough time in the rallies. I thought I did a much better job today in the baseline rallies, in the slice exchanges, the cat-and-mouse games. I felt more and more comfortable.

I think the better that I continue to improve my movement on the surface and clean up a few things with the serve and return of serve, I'm close to where I want to be.

Q. It looked from afar like you both were having a lot of fun out there. What did it feel like being out there, being on that court with that guy going back and forth, toe to toe with him? Can you enjoy it? And maybe does that help bring out better tennis for you, do you think, when you are in that kind of environment?

BEN SHELTON: Yeah, I enjoyed it 100%. I think that that's the type of match, the level of match, the type of play that I enjoy, you know, hot shots on both sides.

I thought a lot of great rallies. Yeah, that's the type of matches that you live for, the environments that at least I live for and, you know, the situations you want to put yourself in more and more.

Q. I just wanted to ask you about that point. I think it was the first game in the second set where he threw his racquet. The ball went over. Could you tell immediately what had happened? Did you know it should be your point? What could you tell right in the moment, and what did you think when you realized he was walking to the chair to...

BEN SHELTON: For me I was, like, of course, he hit a winner on that. I thought it was clean, you know? I thought he hit the volley, and the racquet flew out of his hand.

I was kind of surprised that he was, like, No, I let go of the racquet and threw it. Maybe slow motion showed that I guess he did throw the racquet. Yeah, I guess I was surprised that he gave up the point.

Obviously a guy with a lot of sportsmanship. That is never really an issue for him. Yeah, crazy shot. It was one of those I think Bublik had something similar against me in Montreal where it's just, like, a ridiculous shot. Kind of sad that it doesn't count.

Q. What's the hardest part about playing Carlos on clay at the moment?

BEN SHELTON: I always say that the best players on each surface is the best movers. I think his movement is elite, the way that he can get back an extra ball. Obviously the explosive tennis and the way that he can use the angles and open up the court is really, really difficult.

So I think all those things combined, the athleticism, the feel up at the net, the touch and drop shots, it's all kind of complete package.

Q. You mentioned that you'll look back at the tape on this match. I'm curious, how much do you go and look back at the tape after wins and losses? And what's your process for evaluating matches like this, particularly the ones against the top players?

BEN SHELTON: Yeah, I do it a lot. I think it's great for me to be able to learn, especially when I'm playing against great players. But also how I handle those tight situations in matches where I play well and I don't win, it's like, okay, what happened in the moment at 6-5 in the breaker? How did I lose that point? What serve did I go to? Did I miss my spot? Did I miss a first serve?

For me it's those moments in the matches that matter the most and that come up, and I think that that's kind of the piece that I have to figure out.

One of the biggest parts of my evolution is how you play those clutch points, where you serve in those clutch moments, and do you make the return in the clutch moments? So I would say all that.