The past few weeks have been very tough for Ben Shelton. He recently lost the beloved presence of his grandmother, Regina Ann Shelton, who passed away on March 27, at the age of 90, after a long battle. Though Shelton could have stayed with his family at the time, he instead continued participating in tournaments. He went on to win the doubles title alongside Andres Andrade in Houston and then clinched the singles title in Munich. During this rough time, Shelton is hoping to honor his grandmother’s memory ahead of the upcoming Italian Open.

While Shelton did get knocked out early in the previous tournament, he was pretty satisfied with his performance in the narrow 4-6, 7-6, 6-7 defeat to Dino Prizmic. Besides, the result proved to be a blessing in disguise for the American as he was able to spend some valuable time with his family.

“I had an early elimination in Madrid, but I didn’t even play a bad match. So, for me, it is something to continue improving on. Also, on a personal level, it was very important to be able to return to the United States and be with my family in these moments, attend my grandmother’s funeral, and accompany my father. From now on, I hope to honor her memory with everything I do here,” Shelton said.

Another reason why Shelton is confident coming into the Rome Masters is due to his improved relationship with clay. The 23-year-old feels that his shots and serves are quite strong on the surface.

“I have big ambitions on clay. It’s becoming one of my favorite surfaces to play on. In Munich, I felt like I had excellent ball control. I’m striking very well from both wings, especially my backhand. It’s probably my best shot from the baseline. On top of that, I served well and returned well. Those are the two most important parts of the game. I feel great with my clay-court tennis,” he added.

This will be Shelton’s fourth appearance at the Italian Open. He currently holds a dismal win-loss record of 1-3 in the tournament and was eliminated in the first round by Jaume Munar last year. The American will definitely be aiming to improve his form in the competition’s upcoming edition.

Shelton has an impressive win-loss record of 6-2 on clay this season. He is already on the cusp of surpassing his last year’s record of 7-5 on the surface. This improvement in form has seen him gain multiple places in the rankings. Shelton was placed on No. 8 when he began his clay-court season, but he is already up to No. 6 and has a big chance of entering the top 5 in the Italian Open.

Though Shelton will enter the tournament in great form, the draw can spoil all his plans as he can be matched against his nemesis in the later stages.

Ben Shelton can potentially face Jannik Sinner in the Italian Open

Shelton’s opponent for the opening round hasn’t been decided yet. He will be facing the winner of the qualifier clash between Nikoloz Basilashvili and Daniel Merida. The American’s biggest test of the tournament can come in the quarterfinals, where he can potentially lock horns with Jannik Sinner.

The 23-year-old has previously faced the Italian on 10 occasions but has only been able to win once. That victory had come back in 2023 at the Shanghai Masters when the two had faced each other for the first time.

Sinner has come out victorious in his last nine meetings against Shelton and holds a formidable 9-1 lead in the H2H record. His latest win over the latter came in the quarterfinals of the Australian Open earlier this year.

Shelton will be eager to put an end to his losing streak against Sinner, but he will require a colossal effort to do so. Will the American keep up his impressive form on clay and make it to the later stages in Rome, or will he bow out early just like last year? Drop your predictions in the comments!