Rising American tennis star Ben Shelton overtly griped in regards to the conduct of broadcast media in the direction of gamers at this 12 months’s Australian Open, calling out “disrespectful” conduct by broadcasters and people conducting on-court interviews with gamers. Shelton claimed that he and different gamers have been subjected to “embarrassing” interviews, particularly by broadcasters making wisecracks in regards to the 22 12 months outdated’s age and stage of fan assist.
Media conduct had been some extent of competition earlier within the event, when Tony Jones — a broadcaster for Channel 9 in Australia — apologized for heckling Serbian followers by calling Novak Djokovic “overrated” and a “has-been” amongst different feedback. Shelton identified {that a} lack of professionalism in media conduct hasn’t been restricted to the Djokovic incident, mentioning that he and different gamers like American Learner Tien have been interviewed with a scarcity of respect as properly.
“There are some feedback which have been made to me in postmatch interviews by a few totally different guys, whether or not it was, ‘Hey, [Gael] Monfils is sufficiently old to be your dad. Possibly he’s your dad,'” Shelton mentioned in a press convention. “Or as we speak on the courtroom, ‘Hey, Ben, how does it really feel that regardless of who you play in your subsequent match, nobody’s going to be cheering for you?’ I imply, that could be true, however I simply do not suppose the remark is respectful from a man I’ve by no means met earlier than in my life.
“I really feel like broadcasters must be serving to us develop our sport and assist these athletes who simply gained matches on the most important stage get pleasure from one among their greatest moments. I really feel like there’s simply been quite a lot of negativity and I believe that is one thing that should change.”
Shelton’s feedback got here after his Wednesday victory over Italy’s Lorenzo Sonego, which has put him within the Australian Open semifinals for the primary time. On Friday, he’ll play World No. 1 and defending champion Jannik Sinner for the chance to advance to the ultimate.
