BEN SHELTON has paid tribute to his late uncle, a former tennis professional, who died four years before he was born.
The second-highest American male in the US Open singles draw has spoken of the family pride and admiration he feels towards Todd Witsken, who was a distinguished doubles player.
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Witsken, whose sister Lisa is Shelton’s mum, was born in Indianapolis in November 1963, three weeks before US President John F. Kennedy was infamously shot in Dallas, Texas.
During a 13-year career, Witsken reached the quarter-finals of the 1988 Australian Open (where he lost to No.1 seed Ivan Lendl) and made the fourth round of the 1986 US Open (he defeated Jimmy Connors in the Last 32).
He also played several times at Wimbledon and the French Open.
In doubles play, he reached a career high of world No.4 and won titles on four separate continents before early retirement in 1994.
Tragically, on May 25, 1998, he died from brain cancer at the age of just 34.
His nephew Shelton – whose full name is Benjamin Todd Shelton – was born on October 9, 2022 in Atlanta, Georgia, and during his formative years, he learned about his rich sporting family heritage.
Shelton, whose dad Bryan also played professionally, comes into this year’s US Open on a high after winning the Canadian Open in Toronto.
He said: “My middle name is after him – Todd Witsken.
“He passed a couple years before I was born from brain cancer. A great player. Top 40 maybe in singles. Fourth in doubles. Comes from a massive tennis family.
“I’ve got tennis roots on both sides. I think he won in Canada in doubles. That was pretty cool.
“I’ve won a title that my dad’s won and now I’ve won a title my uncle’s won – even though his was in doubles.
“So yeah, it’s cool. A lot of people tell me that athletically there are some similarities between me and him.
“He was built a little bit more like me. Not quite as tall but a great athlete.
“A lot of guys just talk about how much they enjoyed being around him back in the day.
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THE tennis world has descended upon New York City for the fourth and final slam of the year.
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The 2025 US Open takes place from Sunday 24 August to Sunday 7 September.
And there is a standalone mixed-double competition as well as qualifying taking place in the week beforehand.
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“Obviously a tough situation. But I think it’s cool for me to be able to follow in the footsteps and follow a couple figures in my life who have done cool things in the tennis world.”
No.6 seed Shelton faces Peruvian rookie Ignacio Buse on Sunday in the opening round-one match on the Arthur Ashe Stadium.
The last American men’s singles champion was Andy Roddick in 2003 but the hope is that someone, perhaps Shelton, will end that barren run.
Shelton, who is dating soccer player Trinity Rodman, said: “I’d love to see it. I feel like there have been a lot of guys who have been close here.
“(Frances) Tiafoe is always on a different level when he plays here. Taylor Fritz was in the final last year. I think Tommy Paul always plays really well here, too.
“This is my favorite tournament. We’ve got a lot of guys who can make deep runs here and play against the best players in the world.
“I think that it’s a matter of time for us. The media will keep probably asking questions and debating until that happens.
“I can’t wait for that to happen – then we can kind of move on to a different question. There are lots of guys that I could see doing it.”
