Tennis legends lash out after Ben Shelton rips ‘disrespectful’ question

Tennis legends Boris Becker and Chris Evert have backed Ben Shelton’s criticism of some of the interviews conducted after Australian Open matches. Shelton launched an extraordinary broadside at the Australian Open and Channel 9 officials during his press conference after beating Lorenzo Sonego on Wednesday to advance to the semi-finals.

After all the questions were finished, Shelton asked if he could say a few more words. He said: “I was a bit shocked this week by the way the players were treated by the broadcasters. I noticed it with different people, not just myself. I noticed it with the learning Tien in one of his matches “When he beat (Daniil) Medvedev…during his post-match interview, I thought it was quite embarrassing and disrespectful.”

Shelton said Tony Jones’ mockery of Djokovic and Serbian fans wasn’t just a “one-off” event, and said a question he was asked during his on-field interview Wednesday was “disrespectful.” James Sherry asked Shelton, “You’re going to play the winner of Jannik Sinner and Alex de Minaur. The crowd is going to be on the other guy’s side, right?”

Shelton took it in his stride and said, “You can boo me, you can throw stuff at my head, I get it.” But in his official press conference he said: “There are certain comments made to me in post-match interviews by different guys, for example: ‘Hey, (Gaël) Monfils is quite old to be your father.’ .Maybe it’s your father.

“Or today on the field, ‘Hey, Ben, how does it feel to know that no matter who you play in your next match, no one will be cheering for you?’ may be true, but I don’t. I don’t think the comment is respectful coming from a guy I’ve never met in my life.

“I think broadcasters should help us grow our sport and help these athletes who have just won matches on the biggest stage enjoy one of their biggest moments. I feel like there got a lot of negativity. I think that’s something that needs to change.

Interviews that Ben Shelton was outraged about

The general consensus on Sherry’s question was that it was poorly worded, and he should have added something about how a player prepares when he knows he will also be facing a local player and a loud crowd. As for the question about Monfils and his father, Shelton’s claim that Roger Rasheed said “maybe he’s your father” isn’t really accurate.

But Rasheed’s question was also poorly worded when he said “he could be your father.” This was not a question about Shelton’s parentage, but simply a nod to the vast age gap between Shelton (22) and Monfils (38).

The American reference to Interview with learner Tien comes after some rough times with John Fitzgerald. At one point, Fitzy told Tien “I know where you live” because the Australian resided in Newport Beach, where Tien currently resides. And Fitzgerald also said “you don’t know how to answer that, do you” despite the fact that he never asked a question.

Boris Becker and Chris Evert add criticism to interviews

On Wednesday evening, on social networks, German legend Becker attacked the broadcasters. “Totally agree with Ben! The on-field interviews are way too long after the matches… and too personal too!”

While Evert wrote: “I agree with Ben. Sometimes field interviewers try to be funny or pretend to be themselves…. In saying that, Jim Courier is excellent in this role… Czech player Jiri Lehecka also agreed.

There is a general feeling that on-pitch interviews are supposed to be a little lighter and more offbeat than official press conferences, and we saw Jelena Dokic dancing with Aryna Sabalenka and asking players if they wanted to grab a coffee . John McEnroe also faced backlash when he apparently didn’t know enough about Jannik Sinner during an interview.

Maybe it’s time to get back to business and ask more serious questions. As is the case at every Australian Open, a number of interviewers are not actually employed by Channel 9. Sherry, Rasheed and Fitzgerald are employed by Tennis Australia for the two-week tournament and have no relationship with Nine.

Tellingly, a survey conducted by Yahoo Sports Australia revealed Dokic as the fan favorite among interviewers and commentators. In the poll of more than 15,000 readers, Dokic is the runaway leader with 49 percent of the vote, followed by Jim Courier (22 percent) and John McEnroe (nine percent).