After a string of early exits on the singles court, Ben Shelton found his winning form in the doubles draw at the U.S. Men’s Clay Court Championship in Houston. His decision to stay and compete not only helped his partner hit a career milestone but also earned high praise from tennis coach and commentator Brad Gilbert.
Ben Shelton’s Selflessness Leads to Major Milestone for Andres Andrade
Heading into the Houston tournament, Shelton was hoping to snap a difficult stretch on the ATP Tour. The 23-year-old had a lingering case of the flu during the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, which hindered his performance on court, and then suffered another early exit at the Miami Open.
He tried to rebuild his momentum on the Texas clay, received a first-round bye in the singles draw, but lost to Argentina’s Thiago Tirante in the quarterfinals.
For a highly ranked player dealing with consecutive defeats and recent fatigue, the usual choice was to withdraw from the doubles draw, pack up, and begin preparing for the grueling European clay-court swing. Instead, Shelton honored his tournament entry alongside his close friend and former University of Florida college teammate, Andres Andrade. The last time they played together was in 2021, in Florida.
The professional dynamic between the two former Gators was entirely different. While Shelton rapidly climbed the global rankings, Andrade is currently grinding on the tour’s lower tiers, ranked No. 219 in singles and No. 166 in doubles.
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Shelton’s decision to stay in Texas proved to be a historic choice for Andrade. The duo won the doubles title, defeating the top-seeded pairing of Orlando Luz and Rafael Matos 4-6, 6-3, 10-6, and celebrating the victory with the tournament’s traditional leap into the River Oaks Country Club swimming pool. It’s both Shelton and Andrade’s first doubles championship on the ATP Tour.
Speaking on the tournament’s storylines on Tennis Channel, Gilbert highlighted Shelton’s selflessness.
“Another great story in Houston was Ben Shelton’s disappointing loss in the quarters,” Gilbert noted. “You know what he does? He’s playing doubles there with his buddy who played at the University of Florida. He doesn’t bag it. The guy is ranked 220 in the world, he’s ranked about 400 in the world in doubles, and he goes on and wins it.”
Gilbert emphasized the magnitude of the win for Andrade, while also noting the psychological benefit for Shelton.
“That’s the biggest result of his career for that guy. So, full credit for Ben for sticking around and taking that swimming pool plunge, and I think that’s going to help Ben moving forward,” Gilbert said. “To win the doubles, you know, that gives you a little bit of extra confidence.”
Reflecting on old-school tennis wisdom, Gilbert summarized the situation: “If you sign up for the tournament, you finish the tournament.”
Shelton has taken a week off to recover, skipping the Monte-Carlo Masters. He’s scheduled to come back for the BMW Open in Munich.
