Bombs Away! Ben Shelton’s Dad Not Happy with Son’s 147 MPH Serve at US Open

By Chris Oddo | @TheFanChild | Saturday September 2, 2023

His dad and coach Bryan Shelton might not have preferred it, however everyone else did – particularly Ben Shelton himself.

The 21-year-old had a close to excellent serving day on Saturday on the US Open, firing 26 aces and profitable 49 of 57 first-serve factors as he defeated Aslan Karatsev, 6-4, 3-6, 6-2, 6-0 to succeed in the fourth spherical on the US Open for the primary time.

But it was that 147 MPH ace, the quickest of the US Open up to now, that actually turned heads.

Shelton confessed that his father didn’t actually take pleasure in it, nonetheless.

“Dad is always upset when I go for the bombs,” he mentioned. “He was saying to me after the match, he’s like, I know you looked at the clock, looked right at it after.

“They had a little statistic up on the screen of fastest serves of the tournament. He’s like, ‘I know you were looking up at that, too, to see you were number one on the leaderboard.’ He gave me a hard time about it.”

Ben Shelton. 147 MPH. pic.twitter.com/DbgP4GF0V7

— Liam (@Blutman27) September 1, 2023

Shelton instructed reporters that he slipped into the zone on serve on Friday.

A “Flow State”

“For me, it’s getting into a state where I feel fluid in my service games, like just the rhythm of how I’m walking up to the line,” Shelton mentioned. “It’s kind of hard to describe, but I’m kind of in this flow state when I’m serving well. I’m not even thinking.

“Then I realize at the end of the game that, Wow, I put that together well. Maybe not focusing so hard on how hard I’m hitting the serve or really trying to hit a perfect spot or even go for an ace.

“The more calm, relaxed, and kind of free I am in my service games, I serve a lot better. I’ve been holding serve a lot lately. I knew that I had another gear that I could go to that I’ve seen in myself before. I saw a little bit of that in myself today.”