Ben Shelton says what he thinks about the courts at this year’s Australian Open after winning his first round match

American tennis legend Andy Roddick predicted how Shelton will fare in 2025, saying he could finish the year ‘close to the top ten’.

However, Shelton’s year did not get off to the best start as he lost to Jakub Mensik in the first round of the ASB Classic in Auckland.

The 22-year-old, eager to make a comeback, put in an impressive display during his first-round match against American Brandon Nakashima, defeating him in straight sets.

Shelton was in full flow and spoke to the media after the match, explaining how suited he is to the conditions at this year’s Australian Open.

Ben Shelton says he ‘loves’ the conditions at the 2025 Australian Open

During his post-match press conference, Shelton was asked how he feels about conditions in Melbourne.

“I love them,” he said.

“For me it’s hot, it’s not hot, I feel like I can walk all day.

“This is one of the hottest days it’s going to be here, there wasn’t really ever a point in the fight where I felt out of breath at all.

“We had a lot of long rallies in a Ben Shelton fight, usually the rallies are a little shorter than what we had today, it gives me a lot of confidence.”

Shelton was especially pleased with how the courts complimented his game.

“For me, I feel really good, I like the way the course plays in terms of bounce,” he said.

“Obviously everything will be different depending on where you play.

“You get an outside pitch, it’s going to be lightning and the balls are going to slide, but you play in a stadium like this today and you kind of have to get used to slow balls being heavy.

“Last game before the ball changed, they were pretty torn up.”

The American star battled past Nakashima 7-6, 7-5, 7-5 as he scored his third win over his compatriots.

He didn’t have it all his own way, however, as Nakashima was just two points from taking the first set when Shelton produced an audacious lob to secure a break point.

Can Ben Shelton regain his 2023 Grand Slam form at this year’s Australian Open?

Shelton burst onto the scene in 2023 with several huge performances at Major tournaments, with many expecting even better things in 2024.

However, it didn’t quite work out as the American failed to reach a Slam quarter-final last year, despite reaching the third round of all four tournaments.

His performances at the Australian Open and US Open in 2023 were mighty and will no doubt give him the confidence to achieve big things this year in Melbourne.

The now 22-year-old American went 9-2 at hard-court Grand Slams in 2023, with his most impressive performance coming in the quarterfinals of the US Open.

Shelton took down Frances Tiafoe in four sets to book his place in the last four of a Grand Slam tournament for the first time in his career.

If Shelton can produce a few performances like the one in Melbourne this year, then he will be a dangerous prospect for the rest of the ATP tour to come up against.

Shelton will return to the court to face Pablo Carreno Busta in the second round on Thursday, January 16.

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