Novak Djokovic taught Ben Shelton a lesson at the US Open last night and then callously mocked him at the moment of his semi-final victory.
Immediately after completing his round with a lead of 6-3, 6-2, 7-6, the 36-year-old Serb mimicked the young American’s earlier victory gesture by holding an imaginary phone to his ear – and then left took it a step further by slamming the phone receiver.
Shelton continued to captivate Flushing Meadows, but was eventually sent to school by the clinical champion, sixteen years her senior.
When asked about Djokovic’s on-court appreciation, Shelton said: “As a child I always learned that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, that’s all I have to say.”
Djokovic is back in the US Open final with a tenth place finish after he was banned from entering the country last year due to a lack of vaccination.
Novak Djokovic hangs up the phone with Ben Shelton after his semi-final victory at the US Open. 🎾☎️
“Djokovic makes fun of Shelton’s celebration the other day and hangs up.” – Chris Fowler pic.twitter.com/kPAaltxknw
– Awful Announcement (@awfulanncreasing) September 8, 2023
Novak Djokovic is one step closer to claiming the 24th Grand Slam singles title of his illustrious career
Djokovic mocked Shelton’s typical celebration of answering a call and hanging up the phone
The 36-year-old fulfilled his agreement by setting up a repeat of this summer’s classic Wimbledon showdown and had to wait to see whether he would be joined by Carlos Alcaraz, who faced Daniil Medvedev in the second match.
Until the closing stages of that semifinal, Djokovic was the doyen, teaching a freshman college player a lesson. Shelton, a ball of rapid-fire energy, clearly has great potential and offered a late challenge after coming back to make it 4-4 in the third set, but he never seemed to spring the upset.
“Those are the kind of occasions where I thrive,” Djokovic said. “Grand Slams motivate me to play my best tennis. I knew I was playing against an American, things were going smoothly for me, and then he came back and in the end it was anyone’s business, I had to stay calm.”
Shelton arrived at a stadium whose roof was closed due to stormy weather that would negate the brutal heat and humidity that has prevailed here in recent days.
There was a thunderclap overhead in the first set and something similar on the court as the young American began throwing grasshopper after grasshopper at the great champion, with clearly mixed results.
The roof increased the noise level of the constant chatter and shouting around Arthur Ashe, and the febrile atmosphere probably increased the adrenaline already coursing through the young American’s veins.
To the delight of the packed crowd, he was soon using his golden left arm to deliver serves at speeds of 140 miles per hour, and a bold second shot reached up to 143 miles per hour. Although they play with different hands, there is definitely the same factor that cannot be ignored, like a well-functioning Nick Kyrgios.
Shelton’s problem is that not much upsets Djokovic, whose game is perfectly primed to absorb tempo and return any serve that is physically acceptable.
Playing at a much slower pace, he was happy to watch some irrevocable serves fly his way, knowing they would come with break opportunities.
Despite a valiant comeback in the final set, Ben Shelton failed to capitalize on the breaker
Djokovic took control of the game early on, winning the first set 6-3 and the second 6-2
It wasn’t long before the American was making unforced errors by trying more than was necessary. He contributed nine in the first six games and that was enough for the Serb to lead 4-2.
Djokovic’s biggest discomfort came when he was serving at 5-3 when he missed the break point, accompanied by an almighty noise. His opponent tried to win the ball with a hard-hitting forehand but only managed to send it into the net.
In the second set the story was similar, the American increased his number of unforced errors to 30 towards the end, while the far more moderate Djokovic barely reached double figures.
Another big difference was the success rate at net, one of the areas where the raw youngster needs more skill. Every time Djokovic went there he took the point, while Shelton’s dinks and volleys often missed or resulted in easy throws.
His best phase came when he sought more consistency in the final stages, but after forcing the tiebreak he always fell behind and conceded 7-4. That will have been part of this excellent training.
“Those are the kind of occasions where I thrive,” Djokovic said. “Grand Slams motivate me to play my best tennis. I knew I was playing against an American, things were going smoothly for me, and then he came back and in the end it was anyone’s business, I had to stay calm.”
Shelton arrived at a stadium whose roof was closed due to stormy weather that would negate the brutal heat and humidity that has prevailed here in recent days.
There was a thunderclap overhead in the first set and something similar on the court as the young American began throwing one hypocrisy after another at the great champion, with clearly mixed results.
The roof increased the noise level of the constant chatter and shouting around Arthur Ashe, and the febrile atmosphere probably increased the adrenaline already coursing through the young American’s veins.
To the delight of the packed audience, he was soon using his golden left arm to deliver serves at speeds of 140 miles per hour, and an audacious second punch reached up to 143 miles per hour. Although they play with different hands, there is definitely the same factor that cannot be ignored, like a well-functioning Nick Kyrgios.
The brave Atlanta, Georgia native vented his frustrations during the game against the No. 2 seed
Legendary singer Jon Bon Jovi was present at the exciting battle between the two
Shelton’s problem is that there isn’t much to unsettle Djokovic, whose game is perfectly primed to absorb tempo and return any serve that is physically acceptable.
Playing at a much slower pace, he was happy to watch some irrevocable serves fly his way, knowing they would come with break opportunities.
It didn’t take long for the American to start making unforced errors by trying more than was necessary. He contributed nine in the first six games and that was enough for the Serbians to take a 4-2 lead.
Djokovic’s biggest discomfort came when he was serving at 5-3 when he missed the break point, accompanied by an almighty noise. His opponent tried to win the ball with a hard-hitting forehand but only managed to send it into the net.
In the second set the story was similar, the American increased his number of unforced errors to 30 towards the end, while the far more moderate Djokovic barely reached double figures.
Another big difference was the success rate at net, one of the areas where the raw youngsters need more skill. Every time Djokovic went there, he took the point, while Shelton’s dinks and volleys often went wide or resulted in easy knockdowns.
His best phase came when he sought more consistency in the closing stages, but he was always behind in the tiebreak at 7-4. That will have been part of this excellent training.