In August, Shelton had an excellent week in Toronto to become Masters champion. The American also reached the Washington semi-finals and was a quarter-finalist at the Cincinnati Masters.
Shelton played the tennis of his life and that earned him the honor of a shot at the US Open title. And it was no secret that there was excitement in the American tennis community, which was hoping the world number 9 would win the US Open and become the first American man since Roddick in 2003 to win a Grand Slam singles title.
While Shelton routinely cruised past in straight sets his first two matches in New York, he suffered a most unfortunate shoulder injury in the next match and was forced to withdraw against Adrian Mannarino.
For Roddick, it was heartbreaking to watch.
Roddick: Shelton’s form was so good that the output was predictable
“I told him I was heartbroken for Ben at the US Open because as a professional tennis player you want to get to the point where you build and build and build and then you’re pretty much certain of what your output is going to be on any given day. Ben had gotten to that point by winning in Canada. Every time he stepped on the court you knew it was going to be a pretty good product,” Roddick said on his podcast.
“I was just heartbroken because it takes months and months and years and years to get to the point where that performance is predictable and you look like a top-five guy. Ben had that, he had gotten to that point, and then it was cut short by injury. I was really excited about his prospects at the US Open before that injury.”
After the injury, Shelton did not play any tournaments for a month. When the American returned, he was nowhere near his best form as he went 3-6 the rest of the year, including a 0-3 mark at the ATP Finals.
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