Ben Shelton recently spoke up about the friendship he shares with compatriot and ATP rival Frances Tiafoe. The American also revisited his quarterfinal win over Tiafoe at this year’s Mubadala Citi DC Open, the combined ATP and WTA 500 hardcourt event that is of particular significance for both players.
Shelton, currently in Toronto, Canada for the ATP Masters 1000 event of the 2025 National Bank Open, registered a straightforward second-round victory on Wednesday, July 30, against veteran Adrian Mannarino. Following his 6-2, 6-3 demolition of the Frenchman, the ATP No. 7 sat down for a chat with Prakash Amritraj in Tennis Channel‘s courtside studio.
Amritraj asked Ben Shelton about his thoughts on the American’s last-eight battle against Frances Tiafoe at the 2025 Mubadala Citi DC Open, which he won 7-6(2), 6-4. The 22-year-old began by highlighting the importance of the tournament for him and Tiafoe before talking about the electric and entertaining nature of the encounter.
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"It was dope. There was only standing room in there, so, for us, DC's a big one. I got a lot of family in DC. My girlfriend lives in DC. He's (Tiafoe's) the DC boy, so, the fact that we got to play that match is huge for us. It seems like we always end up playing big-time matches. We both want it bad when we play each other," Ben Shelton said.
Next, the two-time Major semifinalist hailed Tiafoe as 'one of his best friends' on the ATP Tour. Shelton also shed light on what it feels to play against his compatriot at events in the North American summer hardcourt swing.
"We talk about it in the locker room though, you know, he's one of my best friends on tour, so, any time I get a matchup with him, especially in this swing, this part of the year when we're both playing our best tennis, is a lot of fun," he added.
Ahead of beginning his campaign at the Mubadala Citi DC Open, Frances Tiafoe had voiced his admiration for Ben Shelton.
Frances Tiafoe couldn't hide excitement as American paired up with Ben Shelton to play doubles at Citi DC Open before their eventual singles meeting
Before beginning their respective singles campaign in DC, Ben Shelton and Frances Tiafoe teamed up for the men's doubles category. Ahead of their first-round doubles match, Tiafoe expressed his excitement at taking to the court partnering Shelton, saying at a pre-tournament press conference:
"I love Ben, man. We've had incredible battles and became incredibly close the last few years. Our humor, our mannerisms is very much the same. And the crowd's going to go nuts. We just practiced just now and we couldn't even get out the court. The crowds are going to go absolutely nuts. I'm super excited to get out there with him and we're going to go for it."
The all-American duo though, lost their first-round doubles match to specialists John Peers and Matthew Ebden from Australia. Right now, Tiafoe is participating at the 2025 National Bank Open in Toronto as well. The No. 7 seed progressed to the third round after a hard fought second-round comeback victory against Yosuke Watanuki. He is set to face Aleksandar Vukic next.
Tiafoe also has doubles action to look forward to in Toronto. This time around, the ATP singles No. 12 has paired up with compatriot Alex Michelsen, and the Americans are slated to begin their doubles campaign against home hopes Alexis Galarneau and Gabriel Diallo.
Meanwhile, Ben Shelton, with his own second-round win, has set up a third-round clash against fellow American Brandon Nakashima in Toronto. Shelton is taking part in the doubles category as well, and has teamed up with Arthur Fils. The all-American pair of Nathaniel Lammons and Jackson Withrow awaits the duo in the men's doubles first round.
