{"id":2071067,"date":"2026-07-31T12:00:39","date_gmt":"2026-07-31T09:00:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=2071067"},"modified":"2026-07-31T12:00:39","modified_gmt":"2026-07-31T09:00:39","slug":"ben-shelton-says-why-he-loves-playing-in-washington-so-much-after-latest-victory","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=2071067","title":{"rendered":"Ben Shelton says why he loves playing in Washington so much after latest victory"},"content":{"rendered":"<article class=\"ps-article-content rounded-lg lg:mt-5 lg:border lg:border-card lg:bg-card lg:shadow-primary\">\n<header>\n<h1 class=\"py-4 text-xl font-normal text-title sm:text-2xl\">Ben Shelton says why he loves playing in Washington so much after latest victory<\/h1>\n<div class=\"my-2 flex items-center justify-between\">\n<div class=\"flex items-center\">\n                        <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tennis365.com\/author\/liam-mcmillen\" class=\"text-sm font-normal !text-author\"><br \/>\n                            Liam McMillen                        <\/a><br \/>\n                        <time class=\"ml-3 text-sm font-normal text-info md:ml-4\" datetime=\"31 Jul 2026 1:00 PM\" data-ps-date=\"31 Jul 2026 1:00 PM\" data-ps-datetime=\"1785499239\"><br \/>\n                            31 Jul 2026 1:00 PM                        <\/time>\n                    <\/div>\n<div class=\"hidden justify-end space-x-4 text-xl sm:flex sm:!opacity-100\">\n                        <a href=\"https:\/\/google.com\/preferences\/source?q=tennis365.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\"><br \/>\n                            <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"mx-auto !my-0 hidden dark:block h-6\" src=\"https:\/\/www.tennis365.com\/content\/themes\/tennis365-sportsui\/img\/png\/preferred_source_badge_dark.png\" alt=\"Add as a preferred source on Google\" width=\"76\" height=\"24\"><br \/>\n                            <img 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hover:!text-share-icon-active sm:hidden\" data-title=\"Ben Shelton says why he loves playing in Washington so much after latest victory\"><\/p>\n<p>                        <\/button>\n                    <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/header>\n<div class=\"-mx-3 sm:-mx-5 border-b border-page\"><\/div>\n<section>\n<div class=\"-mx-3 sm:-mx-5\">\n<figure class=\"aspect-h-9 aspect-w-16 relative\">\n                                        <img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1320\" height=\"742\" loading=\"eager\" class=\"w-full h-full object-cover object-center !my-0\" src=\"https:\/\/d2me2qg8dfiw8u.cloudfront.net\/content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/ben-shelton-1320x742.jpg\" alt=\"Ben Shelton looks on\">                <\/figure><figcaption class=\"flex items-center space-x-3 border-b border-mobile-caption px-3 lg:border-caption\">\n<div><\/div>\n<div class=\"my-1.5 break-words !text-xs !text-content\">\n                                Ben Shelton looks on during his match                            <\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<div class=\"ciam-article-t365\"><!-- Article Start --><\/p>\n<p>Ben Shelton continued his excellent form at the Washington Open by coming through a tough test against Ugo Humbert.<\/p>\n<p>The American lost a first set tie-break against the Frenchman, but managed to rally to take the next two sets in front of a packed-out crowd in Washington.<\/p>\n<p>Shelton will next play Alejandro Tabilo, who has been inspired at Washington this year, defeating Tallon Griekspoor and Terence Atmane at the ATP 500 event.<\/p>\n<p>Tabilo and Shelton have not played before, but the American will be hoping the hometown crowd can provide him more inspiration in their quarter final clash.<\/p>\n<p>Shelton has been impressed by the crowds in Washington so far this year and heaped praise on them during his on-court interview after beating Humbert.<\/p>\n<h2>More Ben Shelton news<\/h2>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.tennis365.com\/tennis-news\/ben-shelton-shares-biggest-concern-jannik-sinners-withdrawal\">Ben Shelton gives verdict on Jannik Sinner\u2019s withdrawal on the Canadian Open<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.tennis365.com\/tennis-news\/ben-sheltons-coach-explains-reason-early-exits-in-tournaments\">Ben Shelton\u2019s coach explains why he has suffered so many early exits in tournaments this year<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019m addicted to this kind of thing: playing in these atmospheres and competing in these kinds of matches,\u201d said <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tennis365.com\/tag\/ben-shelton\">Shelton<\/a> after beating the Frenchman.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWashington has one of the best atmospheres in tennis, no doubt. I think we both produced an excellent level of tennis tonight. It\u2019s even more enjoyable to leave the court with the win.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019m very grateful to have another opportunity to play here, on a Friday night in Washington. I knew my chances would come if I stayed solid on my serve.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Shelton has never won the Washington Open, although he has performed well at the tournament in the last two seasons, reaching back-to-back semi finals.<\/p>\n<p>The American was knocked out of the final four in 2023 by <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tennis365.com\/tag\/flavio-cobolli\">Flavio Cobolli<\/a>, while his downfall was confirmed by <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tennis365.com\/tag\/Alejandro-davidovich-fokina\">Alejandro Davidovich Fokina<\/a> in 2025.<\/p>\n<p>His first appearance, in 2023, saw him crash out at the second round stage at the hands of qualifier Jerry Shang.<\/p>\n<h2>Ben Shelton\u2019s record at the Washington Open<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>2023: 2R<\/li>\n<li>2024: SF<\/li>\n<li>2025: SF<\/li>\n<li>2026 QF (active)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>The star did, however, reach the final of the competition in the doubles. Partnered with Mackenzie McDonald, the American duo beat the likes of Lloyd Glasspool and Harri Heli\u00f6vaara and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tennis365.com\/tag\/alexander-bublik\">Alexander Bublik<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tennis365.com\/tag\/Tallon-Griekspoor\">Tallon Griekspoor<\/a> in the United States capital.<\/p>\n<p>They were eventually beaten in the final by Argentine duo M\u00e1ximo Gonz\u00e1lez and Andr\u00e9s Molteni, who needed a tense 10-point tie-break to land the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tennis365.com\/tag\/ATP-Tour\">ATP<\/a> 500 title.<\/p>\n<p>Shelton will be hoping to continue his decent form at the Washington Open this year, but he will be very keen to lift the trophy and climb back up the rankings.<\/p>\n<p>The American currently sits at world No 10 in the live rankings, having reached a career ranking high of world No 5 earlier this season.<\/p>\n<p>He will also have to defend 1000 points at the Canadian Open, having won the tournament in 2025.<\/p>\n<p><!-- Article End --><\/div>\n<\/section>\n<\/article>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Ben Shelton says why he loves playing in Washington so much after latest victory Liam McMillen 31 Jul 2026 1:00 PM Ben Shelton looks on during his match Ben Shelton continued his excellent form at the Washington Open by coming through a tough test against Ugo Humbert. The American lost a first set tie-break against [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[226,249],"class_list":["post-2071067","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-crawlmanager","tag-tennis365-com"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2071067","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2071067"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2071067\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2071067"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2071067"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2071067"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}