Ben Shelton has been making his mark on the singles tour, and his run to the finals at the BMW ATP 500 event in Munich is just the latest proof of that. But what’s been interesting to see is his growing presence in doubles too. While the results haven’t exactly been headline-making just yet, Shelton’s been testing the waters—most recently teaming up with veteran doubles specialist Rohan Bopanna at the Monte Carlo Masters and the Munich Open.
When we caught up with Shelton at the press conference after his singles quarter-finals win, he shared that playing doubles with Rohan has been a blast: “Playing doubles with Rohan is the most fun I’ve had on doubles court in a long time.”
We asked about his strategy with doubles and what he’s learning from someone with so much experience, and how it fits into his overall game as one of the ATP’s rising stars.
Q: Many top singles players do not play Doubles on the tour. You have been playing Doubles quite regularly. What are your thoughts on playing Doubles? And how is it to play doubles with an experienced player like Rohan Bopanna?
Ben Shelton: [On Rohan] I think we compliment each other well. It is funny to see you know he’s old enough to be my dad, but we are good friends. We get along. We are joking all the time. He is also good friends with my dad.
It is the most fun I have had on doubles court in a long time
I just like being around with him. I think there is a lot to learn from a guy like that. And it is the most fun I have had on doubles court in a long time. We have been competing well. Hopefully we can go a little bit further in Madrid & have a good run there. I have really enjoyed kind of learning from him and figuring out how to play doubles a little bit better even though I won’t play all the time.
[On playing doubles] I won’t play slams. There is going to be times where I am not playing doubles for the whole season. But I think it is good. I want to be ready and available whether it is a team even like the Laver Cup where they put me in the doubles or the Davis Cup playing for the USA. I think it is just good preparation & I have fun doing it as well.