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While Ben Shelton's singles campaign at the Monte-Carlo Masters 2025 came to a swift end, he has been thriving in doubles. The young American has teamed up with veteran Rohan Bopanna for the week and their partnership has commenced on a strong note. However, it hasn't been smooth sailing for them as things took a turn for the worse after their second-round victory.
Shelton and Bopanna were up against the third-seeded duo of Andrea Vavassori and Simone Bolleli in the second round. The Indo-American pair looked down and out after conceding the first set and falling behind 1-4 in the next set. However, they stormed back to take the second set and edged out their opponents in the 10-point tie-break to win the match 2-6, 7-6 (4), 10-7.
When players approached the net for the post-match handshake, all hell broke loose. Vavassori complained to the chair umpire that one of Shelton's shots hit him too hard in the chest. Shelton seemed a little bemused at their accusation and pulled up his own shirt in response to point out his own wounds.
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Shelton further added that this is rather normal in tennis, and that Vavassori was hit by a tennis ball after all. This wasn't baseball for him to make a huge fuss about the ordeal.
"It's tennis.. not baseball..So soft, so soft, Vamos" Shelton's response to Vavassori.
However, Vavassori's injury does appear to be serious as per a recent update provided by him. He was scheduled to participate in next week's Barcelona Open but has now pulled out of the tournament after a medical check-up. He will now return to compete at the Madrid Open.
"Sadly I have to withdraw from Barcelona next week due a rib injury happened at the beginning of yesterday’s match. Exams showed a little infraction so have to stop playing for some days. See you in Madrid," Vavassori wrote.
Shelton and Bopanna's blossoming partnership was put to the test in the quarterfinals. However, the duo failed to rise to the occasion and were bundled out of the tournament.
Ben Shelton and Rohan Bopanna crash out in the quarterfinals of the Monte-Carlo Masters 2025
Ben Shelton and Rohan Bopanna's campaign at the Monte-Carlo Masters 2025 concluded with a 6-2, 4-6, 10-7 loss to Manuel Guinard and Romain Arneodo on Friday, April 11. The Indo-American pairing were outplayed in the first set but persevered to take the second set.
Shelton and Bopanna remained on even terms with their opponents until halfway through the tie-break. While they initially recovered after going down a mini-break, they couldn't do so for the second time and thus lost the match.
Shelton will now head to Germany for the BMW Open in Munich, which will get underway from Monday, April 14. It will be his debut at the tournament. His clay swing will then continue at the Madrid Open and the Italian Open, and will eventually conclude at the French Open.
