Ben Shelton has tense exchange with Flavio Cobolli after ‘gesture’
There was some unexpected drama in Toronto on Sunday at the ATP 1000.
American tennis phenom Ben Shelton confronted Italian Flavio Cobolli in a tense exchange at the net after their match.
After narrowly defeating Cobolli, 6-4, 4-6, 7-6 (1), Shelton mimicked a gesture he saw his opponent do in the tiebreaker and asked if it was directed at him.
Cobolli, 23, clarified that it wasn’t about Shelton and they shared a handshake, as seen in a video on social media.
“You deserve it, this match, but it’s not always with you,” Cobolli said.
They took things to the sidelines, where Cobolli reiterated it wasn’t about Shelton.
“And if you do say something [directed at me], then I’m going to say something to you because we’re friends, no?” said Shelton, who was shirtless at this point, said.
Cobolli replied, “Of course.”
The two shared another handshake.
“But you said it’s not [about] me, we cleared it up and we’re good. I’m sorry about the match,” Shelton, 22, said.
“It’s one match I don’t care. You won and that’s it,” Cobolli said. “You can understand my frustration, no?”
Shelton, who pondered for a second, replied, “I can. We’ll talk.”
During his post-match press conference, Shelton said they spoke again in private.
“He just made a gesture in the tiebreaker (and I) asked him about it. He said it wasn’t towards me so we’re cool,” Shelton said.
“We’re good. We talked about it in the locker room, so I’m not going to answer any more questions about that. There’s no story, we’re good, that’s it, so, thanks.”
Shelton, ranked world No. 7, is scheduled to face eighth-seeded Alex De Minaur in Tuesday’s quarterfinal.
Credit to Nypost AND Peoples
