"We Are in a Great Position," Shelton Discusses the Current Success of American Tennis
The United States has always been a major tennis nation, producing numerous legends throughout the sport's history. Among them are André Agassi, Pete Sampras, John McEnroe, and Jimmy Connors, to name just a few.
After enduring a significant drought in Grand Slam titles, largely due to the dominance of the Big 3, American tennis has been regaining its momentum in recent years.
In fact, Ben Shelton will break into the top 10 next week, marking the first time in 19 years (since April 2006) that three American players (Fritz, Paul, Shelton) will be ranked in the world's top 10.
In an interview with Tennis Channel, the 22-year-old Shelton, who is currently in the semifinals of the ATP 250 tournament in Stuttgart where he will face Alexander Zverev, discussed the progress of American tennis but hopes it doesn’t stop there.
"I think it’s always a journey, a process. I’ve never reached the point I dream of reaching. I’ve always wanted to do more, keep improving, achieve better results, and progress in every aspect of the game.
There’s always something to work on, something to build upon. We play a sport where perfection is impossible, so there’s always something you can do better.
At Roland-Garros, everything happened very quickly (two Americans reached the quarterfinals, a first since 2003). I know we hope to go even further in Grand Slams: round of 16, quarterfinals, semifinals…
We want to win. I’m very excited about American tennis. We’re in a great position. There are a lot of expectations around American tennis, and I love being a part of it," said Shelton, who reached the semifinals of the Australian Open earlier this season.
Stuttgart 
