Watch: Ben Shelton overwhelmed as Shanghai Masters crowd sings 'Happy Birthday' to him after win over Jannik Sinner

Ben Shelton got a delayed birthday wish at the 2023 Shanghai Masters, with fans singing “Happy Birthday” to him after his titanic tussle against Jannik Sinner.

The youngster, who turned 21 on Monday (October 9), was outstanding on court as he notched up a three-set comeback win against the recently crowned China Open champion.

In his on-court interview, his beaming smile grew as the packed crowds joined in the chorus to send him birthday wishes. Being overwhelmed, Shelton thanked the fans for the “crazy” atmosphere.

“Yeah, this is pretty crazy atmosphere right now,” Ben Shelton said.

Watch the video here:

Shelton has made his way to a first ATP Masters 1000 quarterfinal courtesy of his win over Sinner. The youngster was slow to start the contest, but came into his own over the second and third sets.

The American hung around in rallies longer as he found his footing in the contest, pushing Sinner. After taking the second set convincingly, he eked out a win in a winner-takes-all deciding-set tiebreaker. The final scoreline for the match read 2-6, 6-3, 7-6(5).

Shelton had gotten the better of Russia's Roman Saifulin previously in another tight three-set encounter in his Round of 32 match, having come through his opener against Jaume Munar rather unscathed.

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"Definitely not something that I would have expected" - Ben Shelton on crowd wishing 'Happy Birthday'

Ben Shelton after beating Jannik Sinner at the 2023 Shanghai Rolex Masters.

Addressing the incident in his post-match press conference, Ben Shelton said he definitely did not expect the crowd to wish him on his birthday in the fashion that they did — dubbing it really cool.

Elaborating on his emotions further, Shelton said it was a "special" and "unique" feeling to be standing on such a large court in front of a packed crowd wishing him well.

"Yeah, that was really cool for me, definitely not something that I would have expected," Ben Shelton said. "That I would be in this situation this year, and to have, you know, or come in to a country as a foreigner and have people from here."

"You know, chanting for me and singing 'Happy Birthday' to me," he continued. "Definitely something that's really special and unique, and I feel really blessed to be able to be here and have that opportunity."

Shelton will take on countryman Sebastian Korda for a spot in the semifinals. Korda had taken out fellow seed Francisco Cerundolo in his fourth-round match earlier in the day.