Ben Shelton and Denis Shapovalov had to wait three hours for Venus and Serena Williams’ women’s doubles match to conclude before finally taking the court at Arthur Ashe Stadium for their third-round showdown. They were locked in a closely contested battle when the match took a contentious turn as Shapovalov voiced his complaints about the American’s grunt.
Why Denis Shapovalov Complained About Ben Shelton’s Grunt During US Open Showdown
Shelton and Shapovalov traded blows through the first two sets of their tense battle, with both sets going to tiebreaks as they won a set apiece. The American then took the lead in the match by raising his level to clinch the third set 6-3. Shelton carried that momentum into the fourth set, securing an early break to move 2-0 ahead.
After Shapovalov lost the point in his following service game, he approached the chair umpire to raise his complaints about the American’s grunts, arguing that they were inconsistent. His grievance drew loud boos from the crowd as the spectators rallied behind the home favorite.
“So I can understand the grunt but the grunt is coming different every shot,” Shapovalov said.
The umpire pointed out that Shelton’s grunts were not extended, but the Canadian maintained that they were inconsistent and distracting. However, the umpire dismissed the complaint, leaving Shapovalov to return to his side of the court and resume play.
“He’s stopping very quickly,” the umpire said.
“Hold on. On his service game, he didn’t grunt once and now on the last two, it’s like full power. And it’s inconsistent. I’m just saying, it should be consistent you know. What do mean it’s my opinion?” the Canadian responded.
Shapovalov objects to the inconsistency of Ben’s grunting
by
u/Large_banana_hammock in
tennis
The fourth set progressed in a similarly competitive fashion, but Shelton stayed a step ahead with crucial breaks of serve and eventually claimed a 7-6(3), 6-7(5), 6-3, 6-4 victory after three hours and 22 minutes. With his win, the world No. 9 extended his perfect winning record against Shapovalov to 5-0.
Following his hard-fought win over Denis Shapovalov, No. 8 seed Ben Shelton will square off against Stefanos Tsitsipas in the fourth round of the US Open. Tsitsipas claimed a 2-6, 6-1, 7-6(3), 6-1 win over No. 18 seed Jiří Lehečka to advance to the Round of 16.
Tsitsipas will head into the encounter with a 1-0 lead in their head-to-head record, having secured a 7-6(3), 7-6(2) victory in their sole previous encounter at the 2023 Cincinnati Open.
