WATCH: Ben Shelton accepts being "old news" after strangely walking into empty press conference at Australian Open

Ben Shelton had a hilarious one-on-one interaction with a reporter at the post-match press conference after beating Italy's Lorenzo Musetti in the third round of the Australian Open. The American ATP star claimed to have waited about 5 minutes in the press room, as no reporter had shown up till then.

He broke into a laugh and agreed with the reporter, as he jokingly claimed that Shelton was now "old news" with new teenagers taking the Australian Open by storm.

Among the ones who have turned heads at the tournament are Joao Fonseca (who defeated Andrey Rublev in the opening round), Alex Michelsen (who stunned Stefanos Tsitsipas in the first round and Karen Khachanov in the third round) and Learner Tien (who took down Daniil Medvedev in the second round).

A clip of Ben Shelton's hilarious moment with the reporter can be seen below:

Interestingly, fans have had a mixed reaction to this event. Some admired how Ben Shelton handled the situation and some were enraged with the disrespect caused to the player.

Some have also rightly pointed out the reporters' reluctance, as they claimed that other players like Coco Gauff, have faced a similar situation.

The 22-year-old will be seen in action against the French star player, Gael Monfils, in their fourth-round fixture, today.

Ben Shelton's pathway to a possible Grand Slam win

Ben Shelton is all set for his 4R match- Source: Getty

The 21st seed of the men's draw has had quite a notable Australian Open run so far. He emerged victorious against compatriot Brandon Nakashima in the first round and sailed through the second, against Spaniard Pablo Carreno Busta. Triumphant after a nail-biting 4-set match against World no. 15 Lorenzo Musetti in the third round, Shelton secured a spot in the round of 16.

American tennis legends like John McEnroe and Chris Evert have shown their confidence in the young tennis player after he had a successful 2024 season.

“I see Ben in the top five in the world if he keeps progressing. I think he’s got the ability. He wants it. He’s worked at it. I think he’s going to be up there with those guys, and that would be great.” McEnroe said in an interview during September of last year

Chris Evert too picked Ben Shelton as her top choice as the world's hardest server amongst the American men. In an interview with the New York Post last year, she said:

“I’m going to pick Shelton, only because [of] that lefty serve. I just think he gets so many free points off that serve. I’m just going to pick him to do the best of the American players.”

In the fourth round, the American is set to take on veteran Gael Monfils for a spot in the quarterfinals.