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Ben Shelton shared his admiration for Rafael Nadal after making a winning debut at the Laver Cup. The American is competing at the team tournament for the first time and revealed that he always tried to learn from the 22-time Major winner. His comment comes just weeks after he lost to Novak Djokovic at the US Open, with Shelton\u2019s dad later claiming that the world No 1 \u201cmocked\u201d his son\u2019s famous phone celebration.<\/p>\n
Shelton is back in action at this weekend\u2019s Laver Cup – his first appearance since storming to the semi-final of the US Open. The 20-year-old defeated Team Europe\u2019s Arthur Fils 7-6(4) 6-1 in the opening match of the tournament and was later told that his energy, celebrations and left-handed forehand were reminiscent of Nadal.<\/p>\n
The world No 19 then confessed that he had tried to copy certain traits from the 22-time Grand Slam champion in the past. \u201cI think that’s a huge compliment, so thank you,\u201d he said after receiving the comparison in a post-match press conference.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut yeah, I think at times on the court, you know, the way that I love to fight, that I don’t give up, could be some traits that I saw or learned from Rafa growing up. You know, he was one of those guys who replicated it every match, every tournament. You could only hope to have a fighting spirit like him.\u201d<\/p>\n
Click here to join our WhatsApp community to be the first to receive breaking and exclusive tennis news<\/strong><\/p>\n Just in <\/strong> Monfils releases strong statement after argument with furious Laver Cup rival[LATEST] <\/strong><\/p>\n And it wasn\u2019t just the tennis that Shelton wanted to match, as he also loved Nadal\u2019s on-court emotion. He added: \u201cBut yeah, I think that some of the things that, you know, we have seen him do on the court definitely help me out on the court, showing some emotion, showing my fire, and trying to really come after the guy that I’m playing. But, yeah, thanks for the compliment.\u201d<\/p>\n One of the ways that the American has been showing his fire on the court is with his celebrations, and one of them has already become famous. Following his third-round and quarter-final wins at the recent US Open, Shelton would put his hand to his ear in the shape of a phone before hanging it up.<\/p>\n And the celebration caught on as Djokovic used it when he defeated Shelton in the semi-final. The 20-year-old was relatively reserved in his reaction as he later said: \u201cI didn’t see it until after the match. You know, I don’t like when I’m on social media and I see people telling me how I can celebrate or can’t celebrate. You know, I think if you win the match, you deserve to do whatever you want.<\/p>\n We use your sign-up to provide content in ways you’ve consented to and to improve our understanding of you. This may include adverts from us and 3rd parties based on our understanding. You can unsubscribe at any time. More info<\/p>\n![](\"https:\/\/cdn.images.express.co.uk\/img\/dynamic\/72\/590x\/secondary\/4975068.jpg?r=1695502579087\")
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