Andy Murray explains what he found ‘unbelievable’ about Ben Shelton after practicing with him before he retired

Andy Murray never played a match in his career against Ben Shelton.

Murray retired from tennis at the Paris Olympics in 2024, when Shelton was emerging as one of the best players on the ATP Tour.

The three-time Grand Slam champion has still remained within the sport, with Murray recently coaching Jack Draper following his six-month spell with Novak Djokovic.

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Murray is also present at the Laver Cup, which Ben Shelton withdrew from after his run to the US Open final, and has looked back on a practice session he once had with the American.

Andy Murray says he found Ben Shelton's serve 'very impressive'

One of Murray's endeavours since his retirement from tennis has been running his own YouTube channel, which he shares with his older brother Jamie Murray.

The most recent of their videos was a question and answer session with Andy Murray as he walked around the Laver Cup, which included him speaking about Shelton. Murray was full of praise for Shelton and his father Bryan Shelton, who is also his coach, after reaching the US Open final, particularly highlighting his serve after practicing with him before he retired from tennis two years ago.

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"Well for him now he's obviously at the highest point in his career getting to a Slam final," Murray said about Shelton. "I'd imagine he's also at the highest ranking he's been at. I really like his story. Like he's got his dad as his coach. His dad used to be a top 50 player.

"I hit with him a few times before I retired and the guy's arm is like unbelievable. Like speed of his serve, the amount of spin he could put on the serve, it's like very, very impressive. And it's like big personality, but you spend time with him away from the court and yeah, he's like super nice, very relaxed and yeah his dad is a lovely guy.

"I've actually spoken to him a few times about how you go about teaching and helping your kids, because I know myself, very hard thing to do to get your kids to listen to you. But the fact that he's coaching his son at the highest level and sits at the side of the court and still seems to be relaxed and enjoying that moment, I think is really cool."

Andy Murray claims Taylor Fritz is one of the best competitors on the ATP Tour

Shelton was not the only player Murray praised, as he also claimed that Taylor Fritz is one of the best competitors on the ATP Tour.

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"Great competitor. I think he's one of the best competitors on the tour," Murray said about Fritz. "Like he rarely, he's not someone that usually beats himself.

"He actually had a tough loss at the US Open this year, I think from two sets to love up, where he spoke about that where his level dropped off a bit in that match.

"But yeah, just generally he's a great competitor and I love that about him because you know when he shows up that he's going to make it a difficult match whoever he's playing against. Great serve, really good arm on him. Very good."

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