"Under way to become most hated for his whining personality," "Too cocky"- Fans react to Ben Shelton's exchange with umpire in Shanghai Masters 2R win

By Urvi Mehra

Modified Oct 07, 2023 03:24 GMT

Ben Shelton advances at the 2023 Shanghai Masters

Ben Shelton's exchange with the chair umpire regarding a successful challenge during his win over Jaume Munar at the 2023 Shanghai Masters did not sit well with tennis fans.

Following a bye in the first round, Shelton made an impressive tournament debut at the ATP Masters 1000 event, securing a dominant 6-4, 6-4 win over Munar in the second round.

Their clash took a dramatic turn at 3-3 in the second set, as Ben Shelton held two break points on Munar's serve. After the Spaniard's serve was initially ruled in, the 20-year-old challenged the call, successfully overturning it and securing a crucial break.

Upon returning to his seat, the American enagaged in a conversation with the chair umpire, seeking clarification on the call.

"You thought it was in?" Shelton asked.

"I didn’t think it was in but I thought it was really close," the umpire responded.

Shelton persisted in discussing the initial call.

"You couldn’t see close enough to overturn it?" Ben Shelton continued. "But if he would’ve called it out, you wouldn’t have overturned it?"

"Exactly yeah! That’s a good point," the umpire replied.

The American then rejoiced over what he described as the "most clutch challenge" of his career. He also made a self-deprecating remark about having the "worst eyes" on tour.

"That was my most clutch challenge of all time," he said.

"I have the worst eyes on tour," he added.

The umpire, however, disagreed with the 20-year-old's assessment.

"There’s some pretty bad ones, don’t worry," the umpire said.

A fan criticized Ben Shelton's exchange with the chair umpire and claimed that the American's "whining personality" was causing him to become disliked by fans.

"Man, this kid is not bad at all, but he is right under way to become one of those most hated on the tour by the fans for his whining personality," the fan commented.

Several other fans also took issue with the 20-year-old's "cocky" behavior.

"Playing style is entertaining but too cocky tho," one fan posted.

"20 years, no title, and still so full of himself 🤡," another fan chimed in.

One fan, however, jumped to the American's defense and rejected the criticism, arguing that Shelton was merely expressing his personality.

"It’s crazy how much people hate on him for having a personality. I’m pretty convinced that it’s some thing else you guys hate about him," the fan commented.

Here are a few more fan reactions:

Ben Shelton to lock horns with Roman Safiullin in Shanghai Masters 3R

Following his win over Jaume Munar, Ben Shelton will lock horns with Roman Safiullin in the third round of the 2023 Shanghai Masters, marking their first-ever tour-level clash.

Safiullin kicked off his campaign in Shanghai with a dominant 6-3, 6-2 win over Andy Murray. He then upset ninth seed Alexander Zverev 6-3, 6-1 to reach the third round.

Should Ben Shelton emerge victorious over the Russian, he will advance to the fourth round of an ATP Masters 1000 event for the first time in his career.

Edited by Urvi Mehra