"He's been on tour as much as I've lived" - Ben Shelton hands Stan Wawrinka big compliment after taking down veteran at Swiss Indoors 2024

Ben Shelton defeated Stan Wawrinka in the second round of the 2024 Swiss Indoors on Thursday, October 24. During his post-match interview, the American lauded his 39-year-old opponent saying the latter has been on the tour as much as he has lived.

Shelton defeated Tomas Martin Etcheverry in the first round while Wawrinka, who reached the semifinal in Stockholm a few days ago, got the better of Adrian Mannarino to set up a second-round clash against the 22-year-old American.

The pair were evenly matched on the Center Court at St. Jakobshalle in Basel. In the first set, neither was able to break the other, leading to a tiebreaker where Shelton surged to a 5-0 lead before closing it out.

In the second set, the American secured the first break to go ahead 6-5 before serving for the win. He ultimately triumphed with a 7-6(2), 7-5 victory over the home favorite in 95 minutes.

During his post-match interview, Shelton was informed about Wawrinka becoming the oldest man to win at the Swiss Indoors after his first-round win over Mannarino.

“We were joking in the locker room before the match that he’s been on tour as much as I’ve lived... He’s got a lot of experience and a lot of love around the world. He’s done incredible things for our sport. Especially here in Switzerland. You can tell with the fan support today," Ben Shelton said.

"I had to smile at times today because obviously it’s against me but it’s so cool to see a country and tournament get behind a guy like that who’s been such an icon. Shout out to Stan. I don’t think I’m still gonna be out here winning matches at 39," he added.

Wawrinka turned pro in 2002, the year Shelton was born. The 39-year-old admitted his career's end is near but, as of now, he continues to enjoy playing and training.

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"I thought I was just tough in the big moments" - Ben Shelton assesses his 2R win over Stan Wawrinka at the Swiss Indoors 2024

Ben Shelton at the 2024 Shanghai Rolex Masters (Image: Getty)

During their first encounter on the tour, Ben Shelton felt he was "tough" in the big moments that led to his win. After he triumphed over the Swiss in the second round of the 2024 Swiss Indoors, Shelton said:

"I thought I was just tough in the big moments... There was a lot of challenges out there today, but I thought he played a really good match. The crowd was really into it, obviously, behind their guy."

"I was struggling to return his serve, and I thought he put the ball in some tricky positions. I was happy with the way I defended my break points, and being clutch in the big moments is what won me the match today," he added.

Ben Shelton has set up an intriguing quarterfinal encounter against top seed Andrey Rublev in Basel.