Australian Open tennis star: ‘You can throw stuff at my head and boo me’

Australian Open tennis star Ben Shelton has given fans a free pass to boo him and ‘throw stuff’ at his head during his semi-final with Jannik Sinner.

American 21st-seed Shelton faces world No.1 Sinner in the last four of the men’s singles on Friday after his 6-4 7-5 4-6 7-6 win over Lorenzo Sonego.

Shelton conjured up the four-set victory on Wednesday at Rod Laver Arena, and in his on-court interview following the match, Shelton was asked about facing either Australia’s Alex de Minaur or Italy’s Sinner in the semi-finals.

At the time, it was not clear which of the two players Shelton was going to face, but he admitted it will ‘probably be the same’ against either opponent.

‘if it’s the home favourite Alex de Mianaur, 100 per cent, you guys can boo me,’ Shelton told the crowd. ‘You can throw stuff at my head.

‘If it’s the No.1 in the world it’ll probably be the same, so I am looking forward to it. I know a few people in the crowd who’ll be pulling for me too.’

Shelton’s semi-final opponent was later confirmed to be defending champion and top-seed Sinner after his 6-3 6-2 6-1 victory over De Minaur.

In his post-match press conference, Shelton revealed that he had been left irked at the on-court interview and the line of questioning after his win against Sonego, suggesting that he had been disrespected.

‘Today on the court, ‘Hey, Ben, how does it feel that no matter who you play in your next match, no one is going to be cheering for you?” Shelton added.

‘I mean, may be true, but I just don’t think the comment is respectful from a guy I’ve never met before in my life.’

Meanwhile, Shelton was criticised by some tennis fans for ‘showboating’ during his win over Sonego after he randomly decided to perform push-ups mid-match.

‘I hate this diving and showboat s***,’ one tennis fan, @icecoldp1nts, posted on X. ‘Get it out of the game.’

‘Corny as hell,’ @badscoobydog added. ‘Even as a gator this guy makes himself unlikeable.’