Well, let me tell ya ’bout this tennis match, the one with them fellas, Ben Shelton and Tomas Martin Etcheverry. Heard it was a real humdinger, a real barn burner, you know? Folks was talkin’ ’bout it down at the store.

Ben Shelton, that young fella, they say he’s got a serve like a cannon. Boom! Just like that. And that other fella, Tomas Martin Etcheverry, they say he’s steady as a rock. Don’t give an inch, that one. So, you got the young gun and the old hand, kinda like a young rooster tryin’ to take down the old rooster, you know?
Now, this match, it was at some fancy place, the Fayez Sarofim Co. U.S. Men’s Clay Court Championship. Sounds highfalutin, don’t it? Clay court, that means they was playin’ on dirt, I reckon. Just like us back home, ‘cept we wasn’t playin’ no tennis, mostly just plantin’ ‘taters and what not.
- Match: Ben Shelton vs. Tomas Martin Etcheverry
- Tournament: Fayez Sarofim Co. U.S. Men’s Clay Court Championship
- Date: April 6, 2024
- Round: Semi-final
Anyways, the match went on for a good long while. Folks was sayin’ it was nip and tuck, back and forth, like a couple of old hens fightin’ over a worm. First set, Etcheverry, he took it. Won the tiebreaker, they call it. Somethin’ about points and numbers, I don’t rightly understand it all, but he won it, that’s all that matters. 6-7 (4), that’s what they said. Fancy numbers, huh?
But then, young Shelton, he come back strong. Won the next two sets. 6-4, 6-4. Just like that. Showed that old fella he wasn’t no pushover. Folks were sayin’ he just wore Etcheverry down, that young fella just kept a-swingin’ and a-runnin’. They was sayin’ Shelton’s serve was too much for Etcheverry to handle. Kept firin’ them balls, one after another. Boom! Boom! Etcheverry, he just couldn’t keep up, I guess.
Now, they got these fancy stats they keep track of. “Infosys ATP Stats” they call ’em. Sounds like somethin’ from outer space, if you ask me. But they say these stats tell ya why a fella won or lost. Somethin’ about aces and double faults and winners and all that. I tell ya, it’s all a bunch of mumbo jumbo to me. All I know is, Shelton won, and that’s that. He hit more winners, I heard. Served more aces, too. That’s how ya win, I reckon. Hit the ball hard and keep it in the court.
Some folks, the ones who know about tennis, they were sayin’ before the match that Shelton would win. Said he’d win in three sets. Guess they was right, huh? They call themselves “Tennis Tonic,” sound like somethin’ you’d take for a belly ache. But they know their tennis, I guess. They said Shelton was the favorite, even though Etcheverry was the runner-up last year. Runner-up, that means he almost won, right? But almost don’t count for nothin’ in this world, I tell ya.
So, in the end, the young fella, Ben Shelton, he come out on top. Beat that Tomas Martin Etcheverry fella. Went on to the finals, I reckon. Good for him, that young whippersnapper. Showed that old fella a thing or two. That’s how it goes, I guess. The young ones always comin’ up, tryin’ to take the old ones’ place. It’s the way of the world, just like in the henhouse, the young roosters always challenging the old ones.
Now, I ain’t no tennis expert, mind you. I just like to hear about folks doin’ good, winnin’ and such. And it sounds like this Ben Shelton fella, he’s doin’ pretty good for himself. He’s got a bright future, they say. Gonna be a big star, maybe. Who knows? But for now, he won this match, and that’s all that matters. He beat Tomas Martin Etcheverry, and he’s movin’ on up. Good for him, I say. Good for him.
