Ben Shelton and Novak Djokovic were part of a thrilling semifinal at this year’s US Open. The legend from Serbia won the match in straight sets and then beat Daniil Medvedev to conquer his 24th Grand Slam title.
Shelton is only 20-years old and has emerged as the next big prospect for the United States. There hasn’t been a star since names such as Pete Sampras, Andre Agassi, Jim Courier or Andy Roddick.
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However, the battle against Djokovic was full of controversy as the American was constantly screaming and celebrating between points. As an answer, Nole delivered the famous phone celebration by Shelton. Tennis world exploded.
Ben Shelton’s father rips Novak Djokovic
Ben Shelton made that celebration, hanging up the phone, after he defeated Frances Tiafoe in the quarterfinals. A few days later, Novak Djokovic imitated the move igniting a scandal on social media.
Bryan Shelton, a former professional tennis player and father of Ben, took a massive shot at Djokovic for the incident during a recent interview with GQ. Ben’s dad is also famous because of his prominent career as tennis coach at Georgia Tech and then with the University of Florida.
“He wants to be loved so much, Novak. He wanted to mock Ben at the end. It wasn’t something he was doing just to copy Ben. It was to mock him. And that’s too bad for that to come from such a great champion.”
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By the way, just minutes after the match, Ben Shelton also sent an ironic message to Djokovic. “I think if you win the match you deserve to do whatever you want. You know, as a kid growing up, I always learned that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. So, that’s all I have to say about that.”
