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Ben Shelton slams ‘embarrassing and disrespectful’ interviews by Australian Open broadcasters

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Ben Shelton slams ‘embarrassing and disrespectful’ interviews by Australian Open broadcasters

MELBOURNE, Australia — Ben Shelton, the 22-year-old American who made the Australian Open semifinals Wednesday with a win over Lorenzo Sonego, added his voice to the chorus of players who have been critical of the broadcasters and on-court interviewers in his post-match news conference.

“I’ve been a little bit shocked this week with how players have been treated by the broadcasters,” Shelton said.

He topped his list of complaints with Tony Jones, the Channel 9 sportscaster, who taunted Serbian fans, called Novak Djokovic names and yelled “kick him out” on air. It was an apparent reference to Djokovic being deported from Australia two years ago over Covid-19 protocols.

Jones apologized on the air, saying that he “overstepped the mark,” after Djokovic called his comments “insulting and offensive.” He had refused to do on-court interviews until he received the apology.

“I don’t think that was just a single event,” Shelton said. “I’ve noticed it with different people, not just myself.”

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He mentioned American Learner Tien’s on-court interview, a stilted conversation at 3 a.m. in which an exhausted and dazed Tien, 19, became the object of some mocking when two questions left him a bit speechless after nearly five hours of tennis in the middle of the night. He had just knocked out Daniil Medvedev, the No. 5 seed.

“19 year olds aren’t meant to be that good,” the interviewer, John Fitzgerald, said. Then he asked Tien if he had ever heard of his next opponent, Corentin Moutet.

“I noticed it with Learner Tien in one of his matches,” Shelton said. “I think when he beat Medvedev, his post-match interview. I thought it was kind of embarrassing and disrespectful.”

Shelton then turned to his own experiences. After his fourth-round win over Gael Monfils, the interviewer said to Shelton that Monfils could be his father. Monfils is Black, as is Shelton, who responded, “is that a Black joke?”

He later said he did not think the interviewer meant any malice in the comment, but that it still made him uncomfortable.

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“There are some comments that have been made to me in post-match interviews by a couple of different guys. Today on the court, ‘hey, Ben, how does it feel that no matter who you play in your next match, no one is going to be cheering for you?’

“I mean, may be true, but I just don’t think the comment is respectful from a guy I’ve never met before in my life.”

Shelton said he felt the broadcasters and interviewers were not doing a good enough job promoting tennis.

“I feel like broadcasters should be helping us grow our sport and help these athletes who just won matches on the biggest stage enjoy one of their biggest moments. I feel like there’s just been a lot of negativity. I think that’s something that needs to change.”

Tennis Australia was not immediately able to respond to Shelton’s comments.

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(Nick Denholm / Getty Images)

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Try This Quiz on Thrilling Books That Became Popular Movies

Welcome to Great Adaptations, the Book Review’s regular multiple-choice quiz about printed works that have gone on to find new life as movies, television shows, theatrical productions and more. This week’s challenge highlights thrillers first published as novels (or graphic novels) that were adapted into popular films. Just tap or click your answers to the five questions below. And scroll down after you finish the last question for links to the books and their screen versions.

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Test Your Knowledge of the Authors and Events That Helped Shape the United States

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Video: How Much Do You Know About Romance Books?

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Video: How Much Do You Know About Romance Books?

Let’s play romance roulette. No genre has dominated the books world in the last few years. Like romance, it accounts for the biggest percentage of book sales, their avid fan bases. Everyone has been talking about romance as a Book Review editor and as a fan of the genre myself, I put together a to z glossary of 101 terms that you should know if you want to understand the world of romance are cinnamon roll. You may think a cinnamon roll is a delicious breakfast treat, but in a romance novel, this refers to a typically male character who is so sweet and tender and precious that you just want to protect him and his beautiful heart from the world. Ooh, a rake. This is basically the Playboy of historical romance. He defies societal rules. He drinks, he gambles. He’s out on the town all night and is a very prolific lover with a bit of a reputation as a ladies’ man. FEI these are super strong, super sexy, super powerful, immortal, fairy like creatures. One of my favorite discoveries in terms that I learned was stern brunch daddy. A lot of daddy’s usually a male love interest who seems very intimidating and alpha, but then turns out to be a total softie who just wants to make his love interest brunch. I think there’s a misconception that because these books can follow these typical patterns, that they can be predictable and boring. But I think what makes a really great romance novel is the way that these writers use the tropes in interesting ways, or subvert them. If you can think of it, there’s probably a romance novel about it. Oops, there’s only one bed. This is one of my personal favorite tropes is a twist on forced proximity. Characters find themselves in very close quarters, where inevitably sparks start to fly. Why choose is the porkulus dose of the romance world. Sometimes the best way to resolve a love triangle is by turning it into a circle, where everyone is invited to play. Oops, we lost one spice level. There’s a really wide spectrum. You can range from really low heat or no spice, what might also be called kisses. Only then you start to get into what we call closed door or fade to Black. These books go right up to the moment of intimacy, and then you get into what we call open door, which is more explicit. And sometimes these can get very high heat or spicy and even start verging into kink. There’s one thing that almost every romance novel has in common. It’s that no matter what the characters get up to in the end, it ends with a happily ever after. I say almost every romance novel. Sometimes you’re just happy for now.

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