BEN SHELTON was involved in a tense exchange with Flavio Cobolli on Live TV.
The two tennis stars clashed after Shelton mimicked a controversial gesture at his rival ahead of the US Open.
Ben Shelton clashed with Flavio Cobolli after their National Bank Open match[/caption]
They could be seen in a tense exchange after Shelton won[/caption]
Shelton, 22, had beaten Cobolli 6-4, 4-6, 7-6 (1) at the National Bank Open in Toronto.
But tensions rose as they spoke to each other at the net after the final point was scored.
Shelton mimicked the gesture he saw Cobolli, 23, do during the tiebreaker and asked if it had been aimed at him.
Cobolli insisted that it was not meant to be at Shelton as they shook hands.
He said: “You deserve it, this match, but it’s not always with you.”
But it continued to cause debate as they walked to the sidelines.
Shelton said: “And if you do say something [directed at me], then I’m going to say something to you because we’re friends, no?”
To which Cobolli said: “Of course.”
They then shook hands again as Shelton put it behind him.
He said: “But you said it’s not [about] me, we cleared it up and we’re good.
“I’m sorry about the match.”
Cobolli answered: “It’s one match, I don’t care. You won and that’s it.
“You can understand my frustration, no?”
And Shelton said: “I can. We’ll talk.”
The world No. 7 spoke further on the topic during his post-match press conference.
He revealed that they spoke in private away from the cameras and insisted that they were fine.
He said: “He just made a gesture in the tiebreaker (and I) asked him about it.
“He said it wasn’t towards me so we’re cool.
“We’re good. We talked about it in the locker room, so I’m not going to answer any more questions about that.
“There’s no story, we’re good, that’s it, so, thanks.”
He will now take on the eighth-seeded Alex De Minaur in the quarter-final on Tuesday.
