Watch 20 Year Old American Ben Shelton Blast Not One, But Two 149 MPH Aces At The US Open
20 year old Ben Shelton is a sight to behold. This kid has an insane amount of talent and may very well possess the highest ceiling of any American male at the moment. He's got what we call a loud game.
Definitely helps that he has a rocket launcher for a serve. I got to see it in person the other day for his 3rd round match and it's something else. There he fired off a 147 mph ace to the delight of the crowd. Today on Ashe against Tommy Paul he cranked it up to 149 moh.
He actually did it twice in the same service game.
All you can really do there is hope and pray it goes out. There's no stick your racket out strategy and maybe get lucky. If that serve falls in you have lost the point. That's just not fair. Kid is an athletic specimen. The kind of athletic build that could have translated to any sport. Pretty cool he chose tennis because watching that serve and his ability on the court is sick. And he's just 20 years old so all of this is going to get better. He's pretty raw still at this point, especially with his return game. The fact that he's already competing at a high level in big tournaments is awesome.
His match against American Tommy Paul is well worth the watch right now.
Update: Shelton wins in 4. Youngest American man to reach the US Open quarters since Roddick in 2002. Tiafoe would be next in the semis if he can win later today.
P.S. The fastest serve recored was from Sam Groth on the challenger circuit with a crisp 163.7 mph.