"He's just playing the game careless" - Stefanos Tsitsipas reflects on facing "spiritually free" Ben Shelton at Cincinnati Open

Stefanos Tsitsipas is looking for a reversal in fortunes in Cincinnati this week. The Greek was taken to two tiebreaks by the talented 20-year-old Ben Shelton, but he managed to close out a 7-6(3), 7-6(2) victory and advance to the third round at the ATP Masters 1000 event.

During the press conference after his victory, Tsitsipas was asked to evaluate Shelton's performance. The Greek replied that the American was "spiritually free" on-court before briefly detailing the best attributes of his game.

"So he's still, like, spiritually free on the court. Doesn't feel the consequences of whatever he's doing. He has a great kicker. He can hit the ball, smack the ball hard," Stefanos Tsitsipas said. "He's just playing the game careless, just like I did when I first started."

The fourth seed added that Shelton, who is playing his first full tour season this year, had "nothing to lose" against top-ranked players.

"With players like this, they really have nothing to lose when they go on the court, playing on center court, against a guy who has had a few results on the tour over the last few years," he said. "So, a player like him, they are relatively new to the tour. They are just getting started. As far as I know, that was his first year where he really started traveling outside of the U.S."

Tsitsipas also conceded that the American's explosive game warranted that he himself never lost focus during their second-round clash.

"You know, with opponents like this, you've got to be careful, you know. They can smack the ball whenever without you expecting it, and you just have to be there 100%," he concluded.

Having turned pro last year, Ben Shelton has made a rapid surge in the ATP rankings. The American reached the quarterfinals of this year's Australian Open, which allowed him to make his debut in the men's top 50.

It should be noted, however, that the World No. 40 has had a quiet time on the tour of late, barring a semifinal run at the 250-level event in Cagliari (where he lost to Serbia's Laslo Djere).

Stefanos Tsitsipas' top-5 ranking is in peril at the 2023 Cincinnati Open

Stefanos Tsitsipas poses with the runner-up trophy at the 2023 Australian Open

Stefanos Tsitsipas will play former World No. 9 Hubert Hurkacz next for a place in the quarterfinals of the 2023 Cincinnati Open. The Greek is defending 600 ranking points from his runner-up finish at the ATP Masters 1000 event last year.

With 5,090 ATP points to his name at the moment, the 25-year-old is in danger of falling outside of the top five for the first time since March 2021 if he doesn't reach the semifinals this week.

The Greek has accumulated a respectable 40-14 win-loss record in 2023 and won his first title of the year at Los Cabos earlier this month. However, he has not been able to replicate his great form from January this year, which saw him guide Greece to the 2023 United Cup semi-finals before finishing as the runner-up to Novak Djokovic at the 2023 Australian Open.