After a disappointing end to ‌SW19, Ben Shelton arrived at the Mubadala DC Open determined to reset. He defeated Martin Damm Jr. in three sets to book his place in the Round of 16. However, at the post-match press conference, when a reporter asked about the early exits of American players from the ATP 500 event, he responded with a subtle, cryptic jab that took everyone off guard.

“You be rating people’s kits on the internet, right, talking about fashion and all or no?” the 23-year-old American replied when tennis reporter Christian (Christian’s Court on IG) asked what he thought about the fact that several American players, including Tommy Paul and Frances Tiafoe, had already exited the tournament.

“What did you think about my kit here?” the American later added. 

To add some context, Christian is well known for regularly rating WTA and ATP players’ on-court outfits on social media. That clearly didn’t escape the former world No. 5’s attention, and he made sure to bring it up during the exchange post-match.

“Honestly, it’s tough. It’s tough, isn’t it? The color is kind of fly,” Shelton later added while asking what the reporter thought about his sage outfit at the stadium court.

The conversation continued when Christian asked whether that was his favorite outfit. “One of my favorites, yeah. All right, clip that,” Shelton replied with a smile.

However, after the playful exchange, the current world No. 8 finally addressed the original question about the American players. “I think the first couple of rounds can be extremely difficult when you haven’t played a match in a while, whatever you’ve been doing in the previous weeks. Obviously playing on American soil, it’s an emotional thing,” he added.

The original question came after Big Foe suffered a 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 defeat to 24-year-old Frenchman Térence Atmane. Tommy Paul, who recently celebrated his marriage, also exited early after Kamil Majchrzak defeated him 7-5, 7-6(4) in their opening round.

And although the second seed at the DC Open took a playful jab at the reporter during the press conference, he also made sure to share his honest thoughts after the win.

Ben Shelton reveals how he turned SW19 heartbreak into victory at Washington

The grass-court Slam at the All-England Club ended in major disappointment for Shelton. The American suffered a frustrating opening-round loss to 25-year-old Otto Virtanen, bringing his campaign to a premature end.

Even though he won the second and third sets of the five-setter classic, Shelton looked far from his best against the Finnish professional.

Still, the early exit gave the highest-seeded American player extra time to prepare for the hard court swing. 

And in the capital city, Shelton now carries much of the home crowd’s hopes into the Round of 16. And after the match against a fellow American, Shelton explained why getting off to a winning start was so important. “I think it’s huge to start with a win here and just start building your match count moving into the US Open,” the American added.

The 23-year-old also spoke about how little time players have to find their rhythm before the US Open. “I think compared to the clay and some of the other swings, you don’t have that much time to find your rhythm. If you’re out early in two or three of these tournaments, you can struggle in terms of confidence or the level that you are playing at going into the Open,” he explained.

Now, with several top American players already out, the second seed has become one of the country’s biggest hopes. The big question is whether the hard court specialist can carry those expectations and go all the way to the title at Washington.