Ben Shelton confirms he is not shying away from Nick Kyrgios battle in Halle despite hectic title week in Stuttgart

× Recent Stuttgart champion Ben Shelton will lock horns with former Wimbledon finalist Nick Kyrgios at Halle. The two big-serving players promise an enticing grass court battle at the very first hurdle to the ATP 500 event. Ad Shelton, who had to make the trip from Stuttgart to Halle shortly after lifting the trophy, confirmed his participation at the latter event in a recent social media post.

He shared an Instagram story of her travel by road, captioning it "Halle". The post in essence offered confirmation for excited fans, who would have been looking forward to the two big guns clashing on a surface that best rewards power hitting. Ad Trending Notably, players withdrawing from the immediate next tournament after winning a title is not uncommon.

Shelton's post then is significant as it confirms his readiness to get more matches under the belt heading into Wimbledon. The grass swing is the shortest of all surfaces, offering players only a handful of tournaments to fine-tune their game heading into the competition at the All England Club. It is also the only swing with no Masters 1000 or WTA 1000 events on offer.

Shelton's decision to go back-to-back at Stuttgart and Halle then makes perfect sense as he probably would not have gone too many opportunities to acclimatise to the slick grass. Ad Ben Shelton, Nick Kyrgios arrive in Halle in contrasting form Ben Shelton in action at Stuttgart. (Source: Getty) Ben Shelton and Nick Kyrgios arrive in Halle in contrasting form.

While the former comes in with the best-possible build-up of having just won a title on the surface, the latter only has two singles matches under his belt for the entire season. Ad Shelton's result is especially significant as Stuttgart was his first title on grass. He beat compatriot Taylor Fritz in an intense final 6-4, 2-6, 6-4.

Reflecting on his breakthrough week he said: “It means a lot to me," Ben Shelton said in his on-court interview. "Certainly a difficult week, not an easy week to get through. I’m pretty exhausted, but to play the way I did against the quality of opponents I played in very tight matches and getting a win today against one of the best grass-court players in the world is a huge boost for my confidence.

I’m just happy to get my first title here in Stuttgart.”Kyrgios, meanwhile, continues his comeback from injury woes. Playing in just his second tournament of the season, he won a match in Stuttgart, beating Corentin Moutet.

He put up a brave fight against Sho Shimabukuro in the second round, but lost in three competitive sets 6-4, 6-7(5), 4-6. × Was this article helpful? Thank You for feedback Quick Links More from Sportskeeda Edited by Vedant Chandel Recent Stuttgart champion Ben Shelton will lock horns with former Wimbledon finalist Nick Kyrgios at Halle.

The two big-serving players promise an enticing grass court battle at the very first hurdle to the ATP 500 event. Ad Shelton, who had to make the trip from Stuttgart to Halle shortly after lifting the trophy, confirmed his participation at the latter event in a recent social media post. He shared an Instagram story of her travel by road, captioning it "Halle".

The post in essence offered confirmation for excited fans, who would have been looking forward to the two big guns clashing on a surface that best rewards power hitting. Ad Trending Notably, players withdrawing from the immediate next tournament after winning a title is not uncommon. Shelton's post then is significant as it confirms his readiness to get more matches under the belt heading into Wimbledon.

The grass swing is the shortest of all surfaces, offering players only a handful of tournaments to fine-tune their game heading into the competition at the All England Club. It is also the only swing with no Masters 1000 or WTA 1000 events on offer. Shelton's decision to go back-to-back at Stuttgart and Halle then makes perfect sense as he probably would not have gone too many opportunities to acclimatise to the slick grass.

Ad Ben Shelton, Nick Kyrgios arrive in Halle in contrasting form Ben Shelton in action at Stuttgart. (Source: Getty) Ben Shelton and Nick Kyrgios arrive in Halle in contrasting form. While the former comes in with the best-possible build-up of having just won a title on the surface, the latter only has two singles matches under his belt for the entire season.

Ad Shelton's result is especially significant as Stuttgart was his first title on grass. He beat compatriot Taylor Fritz in an intense final 6-4, 2-6, 6-4. Reflecting on his breakthrough week he said: “It means a lot to me," Ben Shelton said in his on-court interview.

"Certainly a difficult week, not an easy week to get through. I’m pretty exhausted, but to play the way I did against the quality of opponents I played in very tight matches and getting a win today against one of the best grass-court players in the world is a huge boost for my confidence. I’m just happy to get my first title here in Stuttgart.”

Kyrgios, meanwhile, continue