Shelton’s is not the only debut in Munich this week. The tournament itself is being staged as an ATP 500 event for the first time and the American has been impressed by what he’s seen.
“I think they’ve done a great job. I never would have known that this was a 250 before this year. I think it’s amazing what they’ve done selling out the stadium, packed crowd. The grounds are full every time walking through,” he said.
“There’s a lot of hype around this tournament, and it’s one of the things that I love playing in Europe, especially Germany, how much they care about tennis, how much they love coming out to the tennis.
“Obviously, it was Kids Day today, and I love playing in front of kids. That’s who I want to be watching me. That’s who I play for. Having the chance to inspire kids is really, really cool. I saw a lot of kids in the crowd today, a lot of kids on the ground, so it was pretty special,” he added.
