Ben Shelton was eliminated in the second round of the French Open (Image: Getty)
American tennis star Ben Shelton unceremoniously bowed out of the French Open in the second round just hours after Jannik Sinner’s shock upset.
After Sinner, the pre-tournament favorite to win the French Open, was stunned by Argentina’s Juan Manuel Cerundolo on Thursday morning, Shelton was widely considered a contender for the French Open title.
Instead, his bid came up well short in a disappointing second-round loss, falling in straight sets to Belgium’s Raphael Collignon, 4-6, 5-7, 4-6. With the victory, Collignon, the No. 62 ranked player in the world, advanced to the third round of a Grand Slam for just the second time in his career.
Shelton was the No. 5-ranked player in the bracket and will now have to wait for his next chance at a Grand Slam, although this year’s French Open may have been one of his best shots with reigning champion Carlos Alcaraz out injured and Sinner eliminated early.
Germany’s Alexander Zverev and 24-time Grand Slam champion Novak Djokovic are the new favorites to win the French Open as Thursday’s action winds to a close.
Shelton failed to take advantage of Sinner’s early exit (Image: Getty)
Shelton’s defeat was part of a thrilling day in Paris that saw a number of shock upsets and five-set thrillers.
Through two rounds, five of the top-10 ranked men’s players have now been eliminated, including Sinner, Shelton, No. 6 Daniil Medvedev, No. 7 Taylor Fritz, and No. 9 Alexander Bublik.
That leaves Zverev, ranked No. 2, and Djokovic, No. 3, as the top-ranked players remaining in the men’s field, which now appears as wide open as any Grand Slam in recent memory.
Shelton, a two-time Grand Slam semifinalist, will be kicking himself over the missed opportunity. He was the victim of what was perhaps the best showing of Collignon’s career as the Belgian was the aggressor and had Shelton on his heels from the jump.
Collignon is in the third round of a Grand Slam for the second time in his career (Image: Getty)
Collignon broke Shelton three times in six attempts while the American failed to generate one break point opportunity. The 24-year-old Belgian won 88 percent of his first serve points, a staggering clip that outdid Shelton’s 69 percent conversion rate in the same category.
For anyone tuning into the match with no prior knowledge of the two players, it appeared that Collignon was the top-ranked player while Shelton was the underdog.
It perhaps shouldn’t come as a huge surprise that Shelton suffered an early exit given his form coming into Paris. The 23-year-old had lost four of his last six matches, including opening-round defeats at both the Italian Open and Madrid Open, the two biggest clay-court tournaments before Roland Garros.
That said, a player of Shelton’s caliber will always be expected to raise their game in the biggest events. After reaching the quarterfinal or better in three of his last five Grand Slam tournaments, his second-round exit marks his worst result in a major since Wimbledon in 2023.
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