Ben Shelton tells Gael Monfils how he’ll feel if he has to play Rafael Nadal in singles at the Davis Cup
American star Ben Shelton is gearing up for the Swiss Indoors in Basle but there is something else playing firmly on his mind.
The world number 17 has a clash with Tomas Martin Etcheverry to prepare for but the Davis Cup is coming around quickly.
The USA have a mouthwatering draw to look forward to in that and face Spain – with Rafael Nadal announcing his retirement following the tournament.
Shelton will be part of Team USA as they bid to win the Davis Cup but Nadal along with Carlos Alcaraz will be aiming to stop them in their tracks.
With Nadal calling time on a glittering career at the end of the year, facing him in Davis Cup action is not something that Shelton is overly buzzing about.
Ben Shelton shares how he’ll feel if he has to play Rafael Nadal in Davis Cup action
It’s not been a particularly successful 2024 for Shelton and there are improvements that he can make next year when the tour gets underway.
Shelton reached the fourth round at Wimbledon but lost in the third round at the other three Grand Slam events.
When it comes to ATP events things haven’t been much better either. He reached te Cincinnati Open quarter-final but that’s as good as it’s got.
Now in footage spotted on X, Shelton has been seen speaking with Gael Monfils about the forthcoming Davis Cup meeting with Spain.
Shelton said on the prospect of facing him: “If it’s our match, he ends up playing me, I’m going to be so tight. So tight.
“He’s going to be grunting, the crowd, everything. No! This is my nightmare. I’m praying that it doesn’t happen.”
Facing Nadal would be thankless task for Shelton
There is no record to speak of between the two players given that Shelton has never faced Nadal during his career.
The 22-year-old has only been on the tour for a few years and his paths have never crossed with Nadal – yet!
A Davis Cup meeting between the USA and Spain could throw up a one-off chance for Shelton to face Nadal on a sizeable stage.
In our view, Shelton is right too. Nobody in their right mind will want to face Nadal last up although it might be quite cool to be the last player to face him on the professional stage.
Shelton can mix it with the top players on his day. However, given the year he’d head it’s perhaps easy to understand why he’d like to avoid the pressure of facing Nadal at all costs!
