"Ben Shelton is like Nick Kyrgios, he brings something different" - Darren Cahill

Former tennis player and coach Darren Cahill recently showered plaudits on Ben Shelton, while also drawing a comparison between him and tennis's wild child Nick Kyrgios.

Shelton, who turned pro only last year, has been the talk of the town lately. The American went on a giant-killing spree at the 2023 US Open and the 2023 Australian Open, reaching the semifinals and the quarterfinals at the respective tournaments. He consequently broke into the men's top 20 rankings for the first time in his career earlier this week.

Having kept track of Ben Shelton's results over the course of this year, famous tennis coach Darren Cahill believes that he has a lot to offer to tennis. Speaking to Jimmy Connors and his son Brett on their podcast, the Aussie claimed that the 20-year-old shared similarities with Nick Kyrgios in terms of attracting spectators and big-match playing ability.

"He's like Kyrgios, you like Kyrgios, you hate him, I don't care. On the tour, he brings something different and people will go out and buy a ticket, and watch these guys play. And Ben brings a real joy in what he's doing on the court, he's not scared, he doesn't care who he is playing," he said.

He was also admittedly pleased with Novak Djokovic copying Shelton's celebration after beating him in their 2023 US Open semifinal encounter.

"I love him, I think the fact that Novak took him up a little bit (for his celebrations) was awesome. You can't have robots on tour, you can't have no-personality's on tour," he added.

"We're going to see Ben Shelton consistently improve every week" - Darren Cahill

Ben Shelton celebrates at the 2023 Australian Open

Although Ben Shelton enjoyed great results in Melbourne and New York this year, he blew hot and cold for several months in between. The American lost 19 of his 28 matches between the two hardcourt Majors in 2023.

In that context, Cahill was asked to shed some light on Shelton's ceiling as a player during the podcast. In his reply, he praised the American for being an entertainer on the court, but did concede in the same breath that he needs to become more consistent going forward.

"Incredibly brave in the big moments, he was certainly playing to the crowd, enjoying the crowd. Again, you need to put those results week after week to be a factor in the top 10. I think Ben is so young, maybe he's not used to it, maybe a little bit too many expectations came onto his shoulders after the Australian Open," the Aussie said.

The 57-year-old then predicted that Ben Shelton would break into the ATP top 10 rankings at some point in his career in the future. He said:

"Now we're going to see Ben consistently improve every week. I'm not saying he's gonna race into the top 5, I think eventually he's a definite top 10 player."