Shelton enjoys brilliant umpire exchange as US star rues ‘worst eyes on tour’
Ben Shelton shared a light-hearted moment with the umpire during his debut win at the Shanghai Masters. The 19th seed earned a break against Jaume Munar on a correct challenge in the second set before discussing the call with chair official John Blom. The pair traded jokes before Shelton claimed he had the “worst eyes on tour”, going on to win 6-4 6-4.
Shelton was making his debut at the Shanghai Masters, receiving a bye to the second round where he faced world No 82 Munar. The American came through the first set thanks to a single break and he looked to pounce on his opponent’s serve again in the second set.
Holding break points at 3-3, Munar hit a second serve that Shelton thought was long, correctly challenging it and winning the game. As he approached the bench for the changeover, he quizzed the umpire about the point. “You thought it was in?” the 20-year-old asked.
“I didn’t think it was in but I thought it was really close,” Blom responded as Shelton showed his understanding. “You couldn’t see close enough to overturn it?” he added, with the official replying: “Exactly.”
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The American had another question for the Australian umpire as he continued: “But if he would’ve called it out, you wouldn’t have overturned it?” Blom added: “Exactly, yeah. That’s a good point.” While the chair official didn’t have a good enough view of the serve to make a call, he did have an opinion on a different shot during the previous game.
“Good you didn’t waste it [a challenge] on that one there,” he told Shelton, laughing. The world No 20 quipped back: “That was like the most flush shot of all time.” And he also explained that he still struggled with the challenge system, with 2023 being his first full year on the tennis tour.
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“None of the tournaments since I’ve turned pro have been challenge, it’s all automatic now. So I’ve played three or four with challenge. I have no clue what I’m doing,” he explained. “I have the worst eyes on tour.” But Blom didn’t agree with Shelton’s assessment, responding: “There’s some pretty bad ones, don’t worry.”
The American went on to defeat Munar in straight sets, advancing to the third round where he faces either Alexander Zverev or Roman Safiullin. Shelton has been earning fans everywhere following his recent run to the US Open semi-final and it was no different in Shanghai as the crowd loved him, with the 20-year-old staying to sign autographs and take photos after the match.
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