The 2023 US Open’s outbreak star, Ben Shelton, has been making headlines everywhere after hitting his serving bombs two times in a row.
First serving bomb- 147 mph
Even though the 20-year-old from Atlanta didn’t have as much experience as his opponents, he didn’t shy away from the spotlight and let the world see what he was capable of. On September 1, he hit his first serving bomb of the tournament at 147 mph—the fastest serve in the U.S. Open at the time—and the crowd went wild. He also hit 26 aces en route to a 6-0, 6-4, 6-2 victory over 30-year-old Russian Aslan Karatsev in two hours and 20 minutes.
In a post-match interview, Shelton expressed his thoughts on his performance:
“I am really pleased with my performance today,” said Shelton, who won 86 per cent of his first-serve points. “Happy with the way I served. I think it was one of my best serving days ever. I think I had the most aces I have had in a match and it was the day after John Isner played his last match, it is kind of weird. Maybe he left some of his serving magic out for me, so thanks Johnny.”
Albeit receiving positive response about his serving bomb, Shelton, admitted that his father wasn’t very fond of it:
“Dad is always upset when I go for the bombs,” he said. “He was saying to me after the match, he’s like, I know you looked at the clock, looked right at it after.
“They had a little statistic up on the screen of fastest serves of the tournament. He’s like, ‘I know you were looking up at that, too, to see you were number one on the leaderboard.’ He gave me a hard time about it.”
Second serving bomb- 149 mph
As he advanced in the ranks, Shelton then played against his previous rival and fellow compatriot, Tommy Paul on September 3. The two have previously met at the Australian Open at the start of the year, where Paul edged out Shelton in the event. This moment, however, belonged to Shelton when he beat Paul 6-4, 6-3, 4-6, 6-4.
But apart from this sweet revenge, Shelton stunned the crowd once again when he hit another serving bomb at 149 mph during the fourth-round clash, causing the crowd and even Paul himself to applaud at this feat. Shelton’s record is now just 3 mph short of the world record for the fastest serve by Andy Roddick at 152 mph.
As of now, spectators are waiting for Shelton’s next match against fellow American, Frances Tiafoe.