It is not the end Ben Shelton would have liked. The American tennis sensation went down fighting against Adrian Mannarino of France in the third round of the Australian Open. This defeat hurts a lot because Shelton had been surrounded by expectations to dig deep in the tournament, especially after having a breakthrough last season. Following his defeat, Shelton opened up about emotional scenes during his match.

Shelton’s match took place in front of the packed Kia Arena. The crowd was very vocal during the match and they made their emotions felt at every point won and lost. Here’s what Shelton had to say about them.

Ben Shelton opens up about the pulsating atmosphere at the Australian Open

Shelton has grown in popularity over the past few months and his matches often involve packed stadiums. The third-round match earlier today was no exception as there were plenty of fans supporting him. On the other hand, his French opponent also had fairly good support from the vocal fans.

During the post-match press conference, Shelton was asked if he enjoyed the pulsating atmosphere of the match. Replying to this question, he said, “It was one of the greatest atmospheres in a match I’ve ever played in. You’re right, a lot of USA chants. A lot of chants for France for five hours straight. Pretty unheard of. Just the level of noise for the whole five sets, so yeah…”

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Nonetheless, Shelton was very disappointed not to finish the match on a positive note, especially after being 2-1 up. In a match that lasted for almost five hours, he eventually lost 7-6 (4), 1-6, 6-7 (2), 6-3, 6-4. Interestingly, Shelton not only had the support of the American fans but also some Australian fans.

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Aussie fans backed Shelton to win

During the intriguing encounter, Shelton was even backed by the local fans. They regularly chanted “USA USA USA!” Although Shelton was a better player for most of the match, the result didn’t go in his favor.

Further, the commentators even praised him, saying, “He’s seeing the ball like a basketball right now. See ball, hit ball.” However, Shelton’s opponent used all his experience to win crucial moments towards the end and prevailed in this match.

While Mannarino will face World Number 1, Novak Djokovic, next, Shelton will look to go back to the drawing board and analyze what went wrong. Can he come back stronger in the upcoming tournaments? Let us know your views in the comments below.

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