"I hate him" - Ben Shelton & Taylor Fritz roast each other in hilarious show of their friendship; open up about fellow Americans in ATP

Ben Shelton and Taylor Fritz spoke about their bromance and camaraderie with the other U.S. players on tour, sharing a moment of hilarious banter. Both of them are now competing at the ATP Finals in Turin.

Ben Shelton and Taylor Fritz, the American No. 1 and No. 2, are constantly competing to take US men's tennis to new heights. The last time the world saw an American male player triumph at the major level was in 2003 when Andy Roddick won the US Open title. Shelton and Fritz individually tasted success on the tour this season, with the former winning his first ATP 1000 title in Canada, and the latter winning two ATP titles in Stuttgart and Eastbourne.

Now competing at the ATP Finals, the two players sat down with CNN to talk about their camaraderie on tour. During the conversation, they playfully roasted each other and shared some insights into their relationships with the other U.S. players.

Taylor Fritz candidly expressed his dislike for his younger counterpart, saying:

"I hate him"

The statement left Shelton in splits, and he then added:

"We're not boys at all. Couldn't sit down at a dinner together. We don't get along with each other."

The 23-year-old then shared that he has always considered Fritz, Frances Tiafoe, and Reilly Opelka his older brothers and noted that he spends more time with the World No. 6 than with his own family.

"I think it's as simple as that. You know, I think that's kind of the way that we are with a lot of the guys on tour. For him and Tommy and Frances and Riley, that group were kind of like big brothers to me when I was coming out on tour. Young, kind of my first couple years figuring things out. So that's kind of how I see our relationship that's obviously evolved. The more that we're around each other, the more we're traveling to the same place every single year. I spend more time around him than some of my family members."

Taylor Fritz added:

"Obviously, I grew up with the rest of our group, so we've known each other forever. Then as soon as Ben came on tour, we all just started hanging out and became friends. That's kind of just how it is."

Ben Shelton and Taylor Fritz are working towards catching up with the US women on the global level

Ben Shelton and Fritz at the Laver Cup 2023 - Preview Day 3 - Source: Getty

Shelton and Fritz have had no shot at title runs against the two dominant names, Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner, who haven’t allowed them to lay a glove on them. In an interview with CNN, the 23-year-old seemed confident that the American men could break the stranglehold of the top two.

He also discussed taking inspiration from American women, who have been making waves for decades.

"We have multiple guys at the top of the game and we want to be dominant as a country. We’ve had our work cut out for us to catch up to the women who have been dominating … but we’re getting closer.”

Ben Shelton played Alexander Zverev and Felix Auger-Aliassime in the first group stages, losing in both matches.

Edited by Agnijeeta Majumder