American Ben Shelton Jokes About Wimbledon Fans Not Knowing About Football After Win

United States tennis star Ben Shelton defeated Lorenzo Sonego to advance to the quarterfinals at Wimbledon and had a funny moment in his post-match interview talking about "American football."

Shelton, a former quarterback, switched to tennis as a teenager, and it's safe to say that decision worked out well for him. The 10th-ranked player in the world, Shelton reached the semifinals at the Australian Open earlier this year, but is making his first appearance in the quarters at the All England Club. He has yet to reach a major final in his young career, but his sights are clearly set on breaking that trend this week. 

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After defeating Sonego, Shelton held the traditional post-match interview on the court. The interviewer, Annabel Croft, asked Shelton about how being a "quarterbacker" helps him with his tennis game. 

"I'm not sure many people in the crowd know what that is," Shelton said with a laugh, referring to the British crowd not being overly familiar with "American football." 

United States tennis star Ben Shelton defeated Lorenzo Sonego to advance to the quarterfinals at Wimbledon and had a funny moment in his post-match interview talking about "American football."

(Susan Mullane-Imagn Images)

"They use that brown oval-shaped ball [and] sometimes they kick it between the uprights," Shelton continued sarcastically. "Yeah, I grew up playing quarterback… or, ‘quarterbacker' either way." 

Shelton, Croft and the crowd enjoyed a laugh after his answer. Shelton also discussed how playing "quarterbacker" helped him develop one of the best serves in tennis. 

While Croft, an England-born former tennis player, clearly doesn't know much about "American football," Shelton might be selling the Wimbledon crowd a little short. Since the NFL started playing games in England, they have regularly sold-out arenas with long waiting lists for tickets. There has even been discussion about putting an NFL franchise overseas as a response to the fan interest from Europeans. 

Regardless, the focus for Shelton is now on his next opponent, likely to be #1 seed Jannik Sinner – who is facing 19th-seeded Grigor Dimitrov. Shelton is one of two American men remaining in the Wimbledon draw, with Taylor Fritz facing Karen Khachanov on Tuesday with a spot in the semifinals on the line. Shelton next takes the court on Wednesday.