Ben Shelton has been making the most of his time on the sidelines after retiring from his home Grand Slam tournament in tears. The world No. 6 picked up a shoulder injury at the US Open and was forced to call it quits in the third round.
Shelton has used his injury layoff to support his girlfriend, USWNT star Trinity Rodman, who currently plays for the Washington Spirit. The American tennis star has been in the crowd to watch Rodman’s games, and he surprised his partner when he took up a new role as a post-match interviewer after the Spirit beat Seattle Reign FC.
The Canadian Open champion appeared on CBS Sports in a headset, ready to grill Rodman on the game live on TV after she scored both goals in their 2-0 win. Rodman was in stitches, standing next to her boyfriend as he took over the broadcast.
“What’s up guys? How are we doing? First off, I wanna say great game, Trin. I got a couple questions,” Shelton asked a giggling Rodman.
“First of all, two great combo goals today, it was really cool to see the assist. Could you talk about your dynamic with Croix Bethune and how you guys play out there together, off each other? It’s really cool to see.”
The Washington Spirit star tried to control her laughter as she replied: “Yeah, I think Croix is a really smart player.
“I don’t really have to look at her for myself to know that she’s going to play me back, and she’s cheeky like that. I knew it was coming back to me. She’s a great player.”
Shelton added: “That’s awesome, that’s awesome. One more question and then I’ll let you go. Just want to know, this team has had some struggles with injury throughout the year, it seems like you guys are getting a lot of players back, really coming into form right before playoff season.
“What are your hopes and goals for the team for the rest of this year and what do you guys want to do going forward?”
The ATP No. 6 was told something over his headset, but he replied: “I want to be the bigger man. I’m going to keep it positive!”
Answering his initial question, Rodman said: “I think there’s been a lot of interchange with players and formations and line-ups, and we’re still trying to get our groove together, but it’s nice to have a healthy squad and have a lot of attacking threats so we can score goals and have fun.”
Ever the professional, Shelton thanked his girlfriend for her comments and told the camera: “Guys, back to you.”
It was something of a revenge mission for Shelton after his girlfriend crashed his second-round press conference at the US Open and asked how it felt not being able to serve faster than 135mph in the match.
“Why did you give her a question?” he joked. “It was cold outside, so I think that was the main reason. I was focused on hitting spots, and I didn’t hit those spots. So maybe I should have just served bigger. It’s something that I’ll definitely work on next time.”
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Content Source: www.express.co.uk