American tennis star Ben Shelton needed just 70 seconds to finish off his second round clash at Wimbledon after being left infuriated by on an overnight delay.
On Thursday evening, at 9:30pm local time, Shelton’s match against Rinky Hijikata was suspended due to darkness – despite Wimbledon’s 11pm curfew.
A frustrated Shelton, 22, remonstrated with the umpire over the matter, given the fact that he was just one game away from winning and was serving for the match.
Despite his pleas, the match was in fact suspended until Friday morning, where Shelton needed just 70 seconds to seal the win and reach the third round.
The 22-year-old wrapped up a 6-2, 7-5, 6-4 victory on No. 2 Court and, straight after, admitted it was ‘difficult’ to come to terms with the umpire’s decision.
Speaking to Sports Center, Shelton said: ‘It was difficult. At that point, we knew that we were playing in conditions that weren’t ideal for tennis. For me, it was like, what’s one more game at that point?
Ben Shelton needed just 70 seconds to finish off his second round clash at Wimbledon
On Thursday, Shelton’s match was suspended despite being one game away from winning
A frustrated Shelton remonstrated with officials before finally accepting the decision
‘I understand the tournament has got to make whatever decisions they make and the players have to live with that. For me, I lived with it. I came out here and did what I do. I hadn’t gotten broken the whole match.
‘I haven’t gotten broken since the first set in the first round and I felt confident coming out here with one service game to finish it. Yeah, I really enjoyed the way I served it out.’
Shelton was also asked about his thoughts on his third round match against Marton Fucsovics – who beat French star Gael Monfils to book a match-up with Shelton.
The American said: ‘I think that’s a tough match. That’s another guy who’s battle tested. He’s a warrior and in great physical shape and he wins a lot of five-set matches.
‘That was a blockbuster, I’m sure that they’re happy with that win. He’s got to be feeling confident to take out Gael in five sets’.
Prior to his win over Hijikata, footage of Shelton went viral after fans spotted US Soccer star Trinity Rodman lovingly gazing at tennis star boyfriend.
Last month, Rodman was also in attendance at the French Open, watching her man make a run to the Round of 16, departing the field after a loss to Carlos Alcaraz at Roland Garros before his all-time classic against Jannik Sinner.
