Ben Shelton s'est qualifié pour le troisième tour de Roland-Garros en profitant du forfait de Kei Nishikori (7-6, 6-4, AB).
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00:00 [MUSIC PLAYING]
00:03 Hey, Ben.
00:04 Seems like K heard his shoulder.
00:07 Can you just talk us through the match from your perspective
00:10 and kind of when you found out that he
00:12 wasn't going to come back?
00:13 Yeah, it's obviously tough when you
00:16 see a player like him working on his comeback for the past nine
00:21 months now.
00:21 And it seems like he's had a lot of setbacks with it.
00:25 There was never a moment in the match where I was like, oh,
00:27 he heard his shoulder.
00:28 But I just thought from the beginning
00:31 that there was probably some issue with his shoulder
00:34 because of the speed that he was serving.
00:37 He wasn't really going after the serve at all.
00:40 But from him, I didn't really feel a drop in level.
00:45 Or I was, I guess, surprised when he said that he stopped
00:50 because it actually seemed like he
00:51 had started playing better towards the end
00:53 of the second set.
00:56 Who knows if he would have retired
00:57 if we stayed out there.
00:58 But obviously, tough circumstances.
01:01 We've warmed up six or seven times for this match,
01:06 come back to the court.
01:09 So that's three, three and a half hours
01:11 of work in the gym over two days just trying
01:14 to warm up for the match.
01:15 And then go out there and play.
01:17 And I think getting the engine started over and over
01:20 and getting cold and then warm again and then cold, I think,
01:23 takes a big toll on your body.
01:25 And today, it was also like a smaller court
01:29 than the last one.
01:30 Did it change something for you to play in a smaller venue?
01:36 I mean, a different atmosphere.
01:39 Playing against a French player last round
01:41 where it was like a circus out there.
01:44 So loud and so much going on, but so much fun to play in.
01:48 Those are the type of crowds and situations I love.
01:52 This crowd was a little bit different,
01:53 but the stands were completely packed yesterday
01:56 when we started and today as well.
01:59 So a little bit different, but kind of feels the same.
02:05 Every match feels like a huge match here.
02:08 You kind of mentioned it previously,
02:10 but what's it been like with the weather these last few days
02:13 having to keep warming up?
02:14 Are you someone who's OK in those situations?
02:18 Or do you get kind of pretty annoyed by it all?
02:21 No, I mean, I think I'm fine when these things happen.
02:27 Because whatever I'm dealing with,
02:29 my opponent's dealing with.
02:31 And my goal is just to come back to the court each break
02:34 a little bit better than the other guy,
02:36 or a little bit better than the last time.
02:38 And I thought I did a great job of that,
02:40 starting pretty hot each time that I came out
02:43 on the court for both of these two matches.
02:46 And I don't know what the weather looks like tomorrow,
02:49 and hope I can continue that moving forward.
02:53 But yeah, it's one of those things, it's not easy.
02:58 You kind of wish that you were one of the top seeds playing
03:01 on the Langland or Châtier, and you
03:05 didn't have to worry about rain delays
03:08 or when you're playing, because things are moving smoothly
03:11 when you have a roof.
03:14 Ben, well done on getting to the third round here.
03:16 Congrats.
03:16 Thanks.
03:17 These conditions, I wonder, slow, maybe not the bounce
03:20 that you would get on a sunny day.
03:22 Just curious, because we're still
03:23 getting to know you as a clay court player.
03:25 Are these not ideal conditions for you?
03:28 Yeah, I mean, I think it depends on the day.
03:32 I thought I did a great job serving
03:34 through these conditions.
03:37 It said nine aces.
03:38 I was pretty sure I had more than that.
03:40 But I think that being able to deal
03:44 with different conditions-- I have
03:46 a game that suits a lot of surfaces and situations.
03:50 So using those tools correctly is
03:54 kind of what I'm learning through each match
03:56 and each tournament.
03:58 And I think one of the things is that I'm moving really well
04:01 right now.
04:02 I'm feeling pretty comfortable moving on this surface.
04:04 So I think that helps a lot when you
04:07 have the days that are a little bit slower
04:08 and conditions aren't as good.
04:14 Have you heard about the alcohol ban?
04:18 So the tournament said that fans are not
04:21 going to be allowed to drink in their seats.
04:24 I'm just wondering what your reaction would be to that
04:27 and also how you found the crowds this year.
04:31 I'm sure there's a few people who've been in the stands,
04:33 especially at my first match, who
04:35 are going to be unhappy when that comes out.
04:39 I don't know.
04:39 I've seen all the talks about whether it's a good thing
04:43 or bad for the sport, turning into football.
04:47 And obviously, I'm a lot different than a lot
04:50 of the pros out here because I played college tennis, which
04:53 pretty much anything goes.
04:55 A lot of people show up drunk to those matches,
04:58 and they can say absolutely anything they want.
05:01 So what I hear out here, obviously,
05:04 it's a lot more people, but it's a lot less than what
05:08 I've dealt with in the past.
05:09 So I think it brings a little bit of excitement to the sport.
05:15 That's the moments that people want to see.
05:18 That's the court that you want to go to.
05:20 You want to go see the court where there's tons of noise,
05:23 not the one that's completely silent.
05:24 But I see both sides of it because it can also
05:29 get dangerous when some of these stands
05:32 have people so close to the players.
05:34 And in a situation like Gauffin, he
05:36 said they were throwing things at him,
05:38 and that gets a little bit tricky.
05:40 So I don't know.
05:40 I wonder if you could tell me how much better you
05:47 feel on the surface today compared to maybe a year or two
05:51 ago, and what are the most significant strides?
05:52 You mentioned the movement.
05:54 What are the most significant strides
05:55 you are making on the clay?
05:57 Yeah, I think number one is serving.
06:02 I was feeling uncomfortable, not really sure how to hold serve
06:05 or what serves to use on the surface
06:07 because I wasn't getting as much production out
06:10 of my flat serve.
06:13 So I started going for more and more,
06:15 and then I was spraying and missing,
06:16 and I was pressing and getting angry,
06:18 and lots of double faults.
06:20 I think that this year I found a little bit better base,
06:24 and I'm a lot more confident playing
06:28 in rallies after the serve.
06:30 And I think that improves my game as a whole
06:34 when I know that I'll be able to hang in rallies
06:37 and win in rallies against some of the best
06:39 ball strikers in the world.
06:42 Sorry, just to go back to the crowds,
06:44 I was wondering what was the worst thing you experienced
06:47 crowd-wise in college?
06:49 I mean, I'm not going to say the things that the guys said to me,
06:51 but obviously the favorite topics when you're playing
06:59 college tennis are they'll talk about your family,
07:02 they'll talk about your girlfriend, and anything
07:05 that you've ever posted on the internet.
07:07 It's all fair game.
07:08 So some of the stuff can get pretty personal,
07:12 but I have never experienced that
07:15 since I've been out on tour.
07:16 I actually went writing a profile on Chinese player
07:24 Zhang Zhezhen, or Triple Z. You played him recently
07:26 on the clay, and just wanted to see
07:28 if you can give me your overall impression of what
07:31 his kind of like superpower is and what
07:34 makes him a special player.
07:35 Yeah, I think he's really dangerous
07:37 because he moves well for how big and tall he is.
07:45 He's a great ball striker on both wings.
07:47 He can take away time.
07:49 He serves and returns extremely well.
07:51 So it's a tough guy to play against.
07:53 And yeah, he beat me in Rome.
07:55 We also had an epic five-setter in 2023 in Australia
08:00 that went to a 10-point tiebreaker.
08:02 But he does so many things so well
08:06 and has a pretty complete game.
08:08 I think that the more that I'm out here,
08:11 the more I just see players who-- everyone out here
08:15 is really good, basically, is what I'm trying to say.
08:17 But yeah, he's made a lot of improvements,
08:22 and I'm excited to see what he does.
08:23 Just on your opponent tomorrow, Felix,
08:30 what would be your take on what you'll
08:32 need to do well against him out here on the clay?
08:35 Yeah, I'm really excited.
08:39 Great guy, first of all, Felix.
08:41 Good friends with him, and I think
08:43 that we'll both enjoy this match.
08:46 He's a great server.
08:48 He's good at attacking, taking time away, and pretty elite
08:52 athlete as well.
08:53 So I think it'll be a battle.
08:58 I think I definitely got to come out there physically
09:01 ready and ready to go the distance,
09:04 because I know nothing will be easy out there.
09:06 And he's a very professional guy and does
09:12 all the little things right.
09:15 His comeback from injuries really
09:17 starting to hit a stride now.
09:19 So I'm really excited.
09:22 (upbeat music)