Shelton explains his defeat against Sinner: "I have never seen ball speed like it"

Carlos Navarro | 9 Jul 2025 | 21.00

Ben Shelton. Source: Getty

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Ben Shelton faced today, in his first quarterfinals at Wimbledon 2025, a true freight train. The best version of Jannik Sinner returned, the one that barely lets you breathe, gives you very few points on serve, and constantly pressures you on the return: there was no trace of an injury that would have prevented him from imposing his rhythm, and Ben, exhausted by the Italian's pace and his lack of success in returns, ended up yielding.

This marks the end of two frantic months for Shelton, who continues to make his mark in Grand Slams: he has only fallen to Jannik Sinner or Carlos Alcaraz in 2025, two formidable opponents who set a glass ceiling on Ben's progress and evolution. Does he feel satisfied by "just" losing to the best, or do these defeats leave a bitter taste in his mouth? Ambition is present in the response at press conferences to this question, as well as in the evaluation of his recent major tournaments and upcoming objectives.

- Tough loss against a Sinner whose great level was expected

"It was a very tough match. Jannik played very well, much better than me today. It's a tough end to a good tournament. I thought he would be on form today: you can't approach a match like this thinking your opponent won't be at 100%. His ball caused a lot of damage today, so I didn't see any difference in his game."

- Only two players have beaten him this year: Alcaraz, once... and Sinner, his new rival, twice

"It's frustrating. There are many things. They are two different players, two different challenges. With Sinner, whom I've faced more times, his ball speed is very high. I've never seen anything like it. There's nothing comparable when you look at the draw. When facing him, it's as if things are at double speed. I usually adapt well to that speed, but it's difficult when someone hits so hard and consistently from both sides of the court, in addition to having tremendous service quality."

Today I approached the match with the right mindset. I served much better than in Australia. I played smarter. I went for it... but my first serve percentage dropped at crucial moments, and perhaps I was too tentative. Many of the forehands I needed to hit aggressively, to go for the point, I felt like I was just adding spin and height to them, as if I were on a slow hard court or clay. I am still learning what works on grass, what is most effective. Today was not a good day for me in terms of making him uncomfortable."

- Explanation of why his first serve percentage dropped in crucial moments

"I don't know. Against a player like Sinner, you feel constant pressure, as he returns brilliantly throughout the match. I imagine I go too big in those moments, hit too hard: when my pace quickens, I tend to send those first serves into the net. I need to stay calm, keep my emotions in check, and trust my normal serving mechanics. It's not that if I don't execute smoothly and calmly, it will go at 196 km/h, but if I hit a flat serve following that process, it will probably go at 225 km/h, yet I start looking for serves at 235, which is foolish on my part."

- Feelings about the return, an area he wanted to improve

"My return has improved a lot. I'm returning well, but it's challenging to face someone like him. You get to 30-30, and every time I was in that situation, I never saw a second serve again. I barely saw two balls beyond the serve. Every time, first serve on the line, forehand, game over, or even no forehand. That made things tough for me. I was in that position several times, but it didn't depend on me. I think overall, my return game has improved a lot, but in crucial moments, he completely outplayed me."

- Has reached all Grand Slam quarterfinals except in Paris, where he also improved this year and only lost in the round of 16 to Alcaraz. Does this give him confidence to look ahead?

"Yes, at this point, I know I can perform well in the Slams. I know I can go far, and that's what I'm achieving. I could sit here and say: 'I'm 22 years old and I've done this and achieved that', yes, but my mind tries to be critical. I'm a thinking mind that's constantly trying to solve problems. I know I'm not where I'd like to be. That's what I focus on. Getting closer and closer to the final rounds of big tournaments makes you hungrier, thinking that you can have that breakthrough at some point, but my mind is fully focused on the work I have left to do."

- Are you satisfied or not with the results you have achieved in the Grand Slams?

"Definitely, I'm not satisfied. It would also be inappropriate to say that I'm unhappy with what I've achieved on clay and grass: I always say I want to go one step further in the big tournaments compared to my results from the previous year, and I've done that in all the Slams this year, something that has never happened to me before. I'm not satisfied, but I do feel confident after the first three Grand Slams of the year and excited for the opportunity that the US Open will present in the coming months. At the same time, this defeat still hurts me."

This news is an automatic translation. You can read the original news, Shelton explica su derrota ante Sinner: "Jamás he visto una velocidad de bola igual"