Ben Shelton gets his wish granted; Extra off days for sister to watch him play at Wimbledon

Dubai: Soon after Ben Shelton advanced to the fourth round, he made a plea during the post-match interview to allow his sister to get some extra time off from her job.

His sister Emma was supposed to be joining work on Monday at investment bank Morgan Stanley. Shelton requested the crowd if they had their connections and if they could get her some extra days off that will help her stay and cheer for him.

“I've been playing well this week. It's not just been me here. I have a great team. My parents are here. My girlfriend's here. Also, my sister's here. She's been here for every match that I've played this tournament so far. She's been the lucky charm,” said the 10th-seeded Shelton, a 22-year-old American who has appeared in two Grand Slam semifinals. “But she has work back in the US, starting on Monday. She works for Morgan Stanley.”

Immediately his sister who was in the player's box along with Shelton's girlfriend US national football player Trinity Rodman, covered her face as the spectators booed.

“If any of you all have some (connections) and get her a couple extra days off so she can (stay and) we can keep this rolling,” Shelton added after his 6-3, 7-6 (4), 6-2 victory over Marton Fucsovics of Hungary, “that'd be great.”

Sure enough, hours later, Emma posted a short video social media in which Ben is heard asking her, “You got the week off or what?” She jumps up and down with her arms raised and a wide smile, and Ben says, “Shoutout, Morgan Stanley.”

The caption reads “thank you MS” with three blue heart emojis and “return flight: cancelled.”