Photo Source: Camera Sport
Ben Shelton was miffed after his second-round match was shut down due to darkness on Day 4 when he was one game from victory.
Yes, he went to bed with a two sets and a break lead, but he still had to show up on Friday – the fourth of July – ready for a full day of work. At the Grand Slams, a day off is a precious commodity, used to recharge and recalibrate, but Shelton was called to duty.
He finished his business in just over a minute, happy to have the 6-2 7-5 6-4 win – and the controversy behind him. “I'm just happy with the way I handled it coming out today and taking care of my business,” he said. “I don't think that physically there's any big deal for me playing one game. It's never ideal mentally having to wake up another day and be on and know that it's a match day. Obviously I went out there prepared to play two and a half sets. You can't just go out there be like, ‘Yeah, I'm going to hold.’”
American men have had some pretty long days at Wimbledon, most notably John Isner, who finished an 11 hour and five minute win over Nicolas Mahut, the longest Grand Slam match ever, over three days at Wimbledon in 2010.
“I guess I'm the opposite of Isner, right? He got the longest. I got the shortest,” Shelton said.
The American was frustrated on Thursday because he had wanted to stop play earlier in the final set and was denied. Just when he got to the cusp of victory he was told that intervening darkness would render the court’s Electronic Line-Calling system ineffective in approximately five minutes.
Shelton, ever confident in his serve, said he’d need far less time. In the end he was right, but harbored no ill will about the decision to postpone the match.
“I got over it pretty quickly, and then we talked in the gym after,” Shelton said. “I just wanted to give them my thoughts about the situation. They gave me theirs on why everything happened. It didn't really escalate. It probably looked more tense than it was…” The Art of the Serve
Shelton’s strong serving is an asset on all surfaces, but it’s not a no-brainer on grass, as many assume it to be. The 10th-seeded American, who will face Marton Fucsovics in the third round, talked about his serve at great length, giving insight into what it takes to be effective from the service stripe at Wimbledon.
“I think it's an art being able to serve on grass,” he said, adding: “because when guys have a mindset that they're either just going to chip one side or both sides or block the return back in the court, and you're hitting big serves, but if you're not hitting spots, that ball can be low and on you, which a ball from the baseline normally I used to not love when it was low and kind of sliding through – I would struggle with that ball.”
Shelton says serving on grass is completely different than serving on the other surfaces, from a tactical standpoint.
“I had to learn how to hit serves on the grass that were still effective but gave me something a little bit higher in the zone that I liked, something that I could feel confident serving and volleying on, finding forehands on the first ball,” he said. “Serving on every surface is an art. Clay, it's an art. This was the first year I started felt like I was able to go through my service games on the clay. The grass, too. To be able to get to your plus-ones and feel confident in the shots after the serve."
Fritz in Four
Taylor Fritz took the more direct route to victory on Friday, as he became the first American man to reach the round of 16 with a 6-4 6-3 6-7(5) 6-1 victory over Alejandro Davidovich Fokina. Fritz will face either Jordan Thompson or Luciano Darderi in the fourth round.
The California native is into the round of 16 at a major for the eighth time, and for the third time at Wimbledon. Fritz improves to 11-1 on grass this season, after winning titles at Stuttgart and Eastbourne.