Despite taking part in separate tournaments, Laver Cup rivals Ben Shelton and Arthur Fils were still able to converse in an amusing and surprising fashion: via signatures.
Shelton and Fils on Semi-finals: ‘Humble and Hungry’
It was during his semi-final celebration that Shelton scribbled the words ‘humble and hungry’ to the camera. The victory meant a lot to the 21-year-old as he climbed yet another mountain in his career and reached his first ever ATP tour final.
The Tennis Letter: Ben Shelton signs the camera after reaching 1st tour level final in Tokyo: “Humble and hungry. Perfect words to describe this 21-year-old.
Ben Shelton signs the camera after reaching 1st tour level final in Tokyo:
“Humble and hungry.”
Perfect words to describe this 21 year old.
🇺🇸😤 pic.twitter.com/dI0KuDE9sG
— The Tennis Letter (@TheTennisLetter) October 21, 2023
A lot of people had anticipated that Shelton would sooner or later get his own breakthrough, as the American tennis star had already made headlines several times for his remarkable performances on court despite being only in his 10th month as a professional player.
But what many didn’t see coming was that Arthur Fils, his previous foe in the Laver Cup tournament, would copy his signature.
The Tennis Letter: Arthur Fils signs the camera after beating Stefanos Tsitsipas in Antwerp: “Humble and hungry.” Ben Shelton signed the exact same thing earlier today. 😂
Arthur Fils signs the camera after beating Stefanos Tsitsipas in Antwerp:
“Humble and hungry.”
Ben Shelton signed the exact same thing earlier today. 😂 pic.twitter.com/3W2rJHjXbY
— The Tennis Letter (@TheTennisLetter) October 21, 2023
Fils also happened to be taking part in his own semi-final at the European Open in Antwerp. The French teenager took the court by storm as he cruised through a 7-6, 6-4 victory against Greek sensation Tsitsipas in a thrilling match. After his match, though, Fils seemed to have caught wind of Shelton’s win on the other side of the globe, as he also wrote the same thing to the camera after his win: “humble and hungry.”
The two moments were then compiled into a single shot by The Tennis Channel on X, where fans expressed their support for the two up-and-coming tennis stars in the comments section.
Ben and Arthur wrote the same thing 😂✍️ pic.twitter.com/5S1I96RmAR
— Tennis Channel (@TennisChannel) October 21, 2023
Shelton’s response: ‘Show me something Arthur’
The next day, Shelton defeated Russian Aslan Karatsev 7-5, 6-1 in one hour and twenty minutes to claim his maiden ATP singles title. The American then proceeded to sign into the camera with a hilarious response to Fils: ‘Show me something, Arthur.’
Ben Shelton signs the camera after winning 1st ATP title in Tokyo:
“Show me something Arthur” 😂
Yesterday he wrote “humble and hungry” and Arthur Fils did the same thing after his match.
Love this back and forth. pic.twitter.com/ionIEPMm1k
— The Tennis Letter (@TheTennisLetter) October 22, 2023
Fils, on the other hand, failed to secure the European title, but he did respond to Shelton’s signature, saying “Ben is a really good friend. I saw his 1st title, it’s great. Well, today, I didn’t manage to show him much 😂. I saw he was still in the race for the Masters, I hope he gets there.”
Arthur Fils on his friendship with Ben Shelton:
“Ben is a really good friend. I saw his 1st title, it's great. Well, today, I didn't manage to show him much 😂. I saw he was still in the race for the Masters, I hope he gets there.”
Love this friendship.
🇺🇸🇫🇷 pic.twitter.com/SGVzrgHKOz
— The Tennis Letter (@TheTennisLetter) October 22, 2023
Cover Photo: YouTube