"Ben Shelton is in trouble", "How are we supposed to challenge Djokovic, Sinner, Alcaraz?" - Fans react to American's shock ASB Classic 2R loss

Ben Shelton suffered a shock upset at the hands of Jakub Mensik in the second round of the ongoing ASB Classic in Auckland. Shelton, the top seed at the ATP 250 event, was bundled out by Jakub Mensik, with the American falling to a 6-7(2), 6-4, 5-7 loss to the talented young Czech. Unsurprisingly, several fans criticized the American over his subpar display against Mensik.

Despite being held in high regard for his booming serves, Ben Shelton's service games during his second-round loss to Jakub Mensik in Auckland left a lot to be desired. As a result, the Czech managed to engineer 12 break point opportunities, converting one of them. Meanwhile, Shelton could only create 6 break point chances; an indication that the American's return game was also inferior to Mensik's on the night.

One fan wondered how Ben Shelton can challenge the likes of Novak Djokovic, Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz at the upcoming 2025 Australian Open, the new year's first Major, considering the American's underwhelming performance against Mensik.

"How are we supposed to challenge Djokovic, Sinner and Alacraz for AO if we can't even beat Mensik Back to the drawing board ASAP @BenShelton," the fan wrote.

Another fan was also concerned about the World No. 21.

"Shelton desperately needs to add to his team. His shoulder seems to be cooked so he can’t serve huge consistently & is trying to use a lot of variety. Shelton is in trouble in 2025," commented the fan.

However, there were others who lambasted Shelton, ridiculing him through their reactions.

"Shelton is overrated," opined one fan.

"Top seed getting bullied in first round…welcome to modern tennis," another added.

"Not hard to beat Shelton a very overrated player imo," another chimed in.

"Ben “only serve” Shelton," yet another fan weighed in.

Shelton has so far taken part in two editions of the Australian Open, with his best finish at the hardcourt Major coming on his debut in 2023.

Ben Shelton finished as quarterfinalist at Australian Open 2023; reached 3R last year

Ben Shelton at the 2024 Australian Open (Source: Getty)

The 2023 Australian Open marked Ben Shelton's second main draw outing at a Grand Slam, and it was an impressive one. Shelton battled his way past Zhang Zhizhen, Nicolas Jarry, Alexei Popyrin and J. J. Wolf to seal his spot in the quarterfinals. Here though, he came up second-best against compatriot Tommy Paul.

Last year, Shelton's Australian Open campaign was not as good as the one that came the year before. The American won his first and second round matches against Roberto Bautista Agut and Christopher O'Connell, but was defeated by veteran Adrian Mannarino in the third round.

The American's best finish at a Major came at the 2023 US Open, where he reached the semifinals before losing to eventual champion Novak Djokovic.