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Ben Shelton responded to criticism after his celebration was met with hostility following a tightly contested triumph at the Bavarian International in Munich. The American saved three match points to defeat World No. 410 Borna Gojo in the first round.
Shelton faced Gojo on Monday, April 14, in a match the American was expected to cruise through due to the gap in their rankings. However, Gojo gave the World No. 15 a run for his money as he won the first set, and Shelton won the next two in tiebreakers.
After earning a 4-6, 7-6, 7-6 win over Gojo, Shelton pulled out a new celebration, pointed one finger to his head and another to his lips.
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The celebration was posted on Instagram, and the 22-year-old came under fire from fans who thought he was not being "humble" after a hard-fought win. In response to the fans criticizing him, Shelton commented:
"None of yall have watched Bayern Munich huh"
Shelton mimicked Bayern Munich winger Michael Olise's celebration. He had recently watched the Bundesliga side in action in their draw against Borussia Dortmund. In a post-match interview, he detailed why he did the celebration.
Ben Shelton explains the inspiration behind his celebration at the Bavarian International
During a post-match interview with the Tennis Channel, Ben Shelton explained that he had gone to watch Bayern Munich play, and Michael Olise is his favorite player, so he wanted to bring that celebration to the Bavarian International.
"I went to a Bayern Munich game a couple of nights ago. Um, one of my favorite players is Michael Olise. Yeah, really good winger for Bayern Munich, and that's his signature style. So we're here in Munich, I thought I might have to pull it out," Ben Shelton explained (from 3:00).
In a different post-match interview, Shelton praised his opponent, Borna Gojo, for his impressive showing.
"The way that he served, the way that he played, even when he got upset. He just started slapping winners. That was a tough ask today, to go up against him. I got lucky in a couple of big moments and held my nerve down a few match points," he said (via ATPTour.com).
Shelton will face Roberto Bautista Agut or Botic van de Zandschulp in the second round of the Bavarian International.
