Ben Shelton 'pumped' for Laver Cup debut after 'proving a few people wrong' with US Open semi-final run
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Updated 19/09/2023 at 10:49 GMT+1
The 2023 Laver Cup in Vancouver is fast approaching and Ben Shelton is set to make his debut in the competition for John McEnroe's Team World. Shelton is looking forward to the opportunity after "proving a few people wrong" with his run to the US Open semi-finals. The 20-year-old said he wanted to show at the Grand Slam that he "deserved" his place on the Laver Cup team.
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Ben Shelton says he is “pumped” for his Laver Cup debut after “proving a few people wrong” over his inclusion on Team World following his US Open display.
It was the first time Shelton had made the semis of a major and he pushed Djokovic, who went on to win the tournament, hard in the third set especially.
The run to the semis came off the back of a largely disappointing season for Shelton, who had not won consecutive matches on the ATP Tour since reaching the Australian Open quarter-finals in January.
He will now turn his attentions to playing for Team World at the Laver Cup, which starts on September 22 and is live on Eurosport and discovery+.
“I'm really excited for the opportunity to play Laver Cup,” he said after his semi-final loss at the US Open.
“You know, when the announcement first came out, I see all these comments on Instagram, ‘Oh, oh, why did you take him? Why? Why this guy? There's so many higher-ranked guys’.
“Coming into the US Open it was like, ‘OK, I really have something to prove’. I wanted to show people that maybe I deserved to be on the team or the people who said that I didn't, kind of prove them wrong.
“I had a pretty good run here, and I'm happy that hopefully I was able to prove a few people wrong.”
Shelton will be one of four Americans on Team World, who will be looking to defend the trophy after winning it for the first time in 2022.
Taylor Fritz, Frances Tiafoe and Tommy Paul are also part of John McEnroe’s team.
“I'm pretty pumped to be in the team atmosphere,” added Shelton.
“I love those type of competitions. First team tournament that I'll be a part of since I left college.
“All positive thoughts going to Laver Cup. I'm going to be just as amped and emotional as I was here [at the US Open] in Vancouver.”
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Leading Team Europe will be Casper Ruud, Stefanos Tsitsipas, Andrey Rublev and Holger Rune, who will be making his debut.
Team World won the event 13-8 last season following Roger Federer’s retirement on the first day.
“I’m looking forward to bringing the team together in Vancouver,” said Team World captain McEnroe.
“It is a talented group, with both experience and youth. Taylor, Frances, Felix and Tommy were all part of our win in London and that gives us a lot of confidence coming into this year. We’re feeling good about our chances.”
Federer, who co-founded the event, will be present across all three days of the event this month and will flip the coin for the last match on Friday evening.
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Stream and watch the 2023 Laver Cup exclusively live across Europe on Eurosport and discovery+
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