Frances Tiafoe and Ben Shelton’s playful back-and-forth over an NBA outing has delivered another entertaining moment at the U.S. Men’s Clay Court Championships in Houston. The exchange was sparked when Shelton took issue with Tiafoe being spotted at the Toyota Center on March 31, where he interacted with Kevin Durant after watching the Houston Rockets face the New York Knicks.
Why Frances Tiafoe Called Ben Shelton ‘Full of It’
While speaking to the Tennis Channel after his second-round win at the ATP 250 event in Houston, Ben Shelton humorously revealed he felt betrayed by Frances Tiafoe, accusing the 28-year-old of misleading him about attending the game and even going so far as to call him a “snake.”
“I actually asked Frances at practice yesterday if he was going to the Rockets game and he said ‘No,’ so he’s a snake,” Shelton said.
However, Tiafoe has rebutted the claim by accusing his fellow American of “lying.” He added a lighthearted account of their exchange, suggesting the episode was simply the world No. 9’s playful revenge for Tiafoe revealing his “Part-time” nickname.
“I’m glad you bring that up. He’s lying out of his a*s. I never said that, so I’m glad you brought that up. I was waiting when I came on here for y’all to bring that up. I FaceTimed him as soon as I seen it today. I was like, ‘Man you’re so full of it.’ It’s probably him getting me back for me calling him part-time,” Tiafoe told the Tennis Channel.
The 28-year-old made the revelation about the nickname during a recent appearance on the “Changeover Podcast.” Despite the jab, he spoke glowingly about their bond and reflected on how it felt “crazy” to now be competing on some of the sport’s biggest stages together.
“Of course! You know I call him part-time. Ben is my guy bro,” Tiafoe said. “But yeah, bro, we play each other like. Look, he’ll say he’s watched me play when he was younger, it’s crazy to think about. And now we’re playing in bigger stages. And you know, we are leading the game as people of color, and it’s crazy, especially being an American.”
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Why Frances Tiafoe and Ben Shelton Are Always ‘Gunning For Each Other’
Tiafoe went on to say that he and Shelton are relentless competitors on the court, which made for thrilling matches and a fierce rivalry. At the same time, they have developed a close friendship, as they regularly stay in touch and spend time together outside of competition.
“So when we play, it’s great matches because we’re both gunning for each other. But same time, we both got crazy amount of love for each other. We’ll do that, and then a couple of weeks later we’re like, if we’re in the same city let’s go to games, go to dinner like you know, I mean we FaceTime all the time,” he added.
Unfortunately, Frances Tiafoe and Ben Shelton won’t get the chance to face off in Houston, as the latter suffered a 6-7(5), 6-3, 6-4 loss to Thiago AgustÃn Tirante in the quarterfinals of the event. Meanwhile, Tiafoe will have to get past Alexei Popyrin to set up a meeting with Tommy Paul in the semifinals.
