Alexander Bublik, Gael Monfils and Ben Shelton are flashy champions with substance, too

“All business this week. First title in the books,” Ben Shelton tweeted after beating Aslan Karatsev by the highly efficient score of 7-5, 6-1 in the Tokyo final on Sunday.

With that sentence, Shelton, perhaps inadvertently, identified the theme of the week on the men’s side. Joining him as ATP title winners were Gael Monfils in Stockholm, and Alexander Bublik in Antwerp. These three players are different ages, from different countries, and are at different stages of their careers. But they have one thing in common: They’re better known for their shotmaking flash than their competitive substance.

Granted, it’s still premature to make a pronouncement like that about Shelton. Anyone who can crack the Top 15 as a 20-year-old tour rookie is clearly a strong competitor. But for much of 2023, the American looked like he might be a big-stage, bright-lights kind of guy. He had the 140-mph serve, the ever-present smile, the clothing contract with Roger Federer’s company, and the hang-up-the-phone victory celebration.

But did he have the basic consistency needed to win on a weekly basis?

Shelton reached the quarterfinalss at the Australian Open, then struggled to win matches for the next six months, until he reached the semifinals at the US Open. Two weeks ago, on his way to another semi in Shanghai, Shelton admitted to being “addicted to the big stages.”

When Novak Djokovic turned the tables and hung up the phone on him at the Open, the message that seemed to go along with it was: Easy on the flash, kid, before we see the results.

Maybe Shelton took Djokovic’s cold-blooded mimicry to heart. Instead of struggling after leaving his home fans in New York, the way he did after leaving Melbourne, he has put his head back down, joined his first Asian swing, and had two excellent, hard-earned weeks far from the from the U.S. spotlight. In Shanghai, he recorded his first win over a Top 5 player, Jannik Sinner. In Tokyo, he beat fellow Top 20 American Tommy Paul, and survived three other close, three-set matches, to win his first career title. In the semis, he came from a set and two breaks down to steal a win from another countryman, Marcos Giron.

“We’ve been working really hard since the beginning to build my game and win titles on the ATP Tour,” Shelton said on Sunday. “I made some deep runs lately. You see the great champions, they finish weeks off. They win titles, they don't just get to finals. They’re able to maintain their level throughout the week. ... To be able to do it for one week, put together five matches in a row in Tokyo is really special."

Shelton’s customary flash and weaponry were very much in evidence against Karatsev. He sent one ball deep into the stands with a skyhook overhead, and won another point with a smash that he flicked from high in the air and well behind his head, with frightening ease. He closed the victory with a series of blistering forehand winners.

But he also won with smarts and variety. Hitting just three aces, Shelton constantly mixed pace and location on his serve, rather than bringing the heat all the time. He seems to have about 20 different speeds and spots her can hit. He won key points by serving and volleying; others by sending his forehand from corner to corner, Rafael Nadal-style; others by driving his return and charging to net. By the time he rifled a forehand up the line to break for 4-1 in the second set, all Karatsev could do was bend down and smash his racquet to pieces.

“I’m really looking forward to this tail-end stretch of the year,” Shelton said. “I think it is a great opportunity for me. Earlier in the season I was losing early in weeks, so my match count isn’t that high, so I’m feeling fresh. I am looking forward to finishing the season strong."

Where Shelton has only begun to show off his unique shot-making gifts, Monfils and Bublik have made careers of it. The Frenchman may be the most acrobatic player in tennis history, and he has hardly lost an inch on his vertical leap at 37. Bublik, at 26, will rarely try a standard shot when an exotic one is possible. His repertoire of underhand serves, full-speed second serves, and out-of-nowhere drop shots rivals Nick Kyrgios’s.

As competitors, though, Monfils and Bublik are both from the school of ATP brotherhood. By which I mean, they prioritize enjoyment of the game and respect for their opponents over cutthroat competitiveness. Win or lose, they end by hugging and praising their opponents. For them, life is too short, and competition too nerve-wracking, to put a ton of pressure on yourself to win a tennis match. Before this week, Bublik had two titles to his name, while Monfils had 11 in 17 years on tour. Only once has Monfils won more than one tournament in a season.

This weekend was different for both men.

Monfils has worked hard to come back from injury at 37, and with the constant backing of his wife, Elina Svitolina, he seems determined to make the most of his final go-round. In the Stockholm final, against Pavel Kotov, Monfils gave himself chances to collapse. At 5-5 in the second set, he fell behind 0-40 on his serve, before settling down and powering his way through the next five points. In the tiebreaker, he blew two set points at 6-4, before closing it out 8-6. But with Svitolina urging him on from the front row, Monfils stayed patient and positive enough to win his second Stockholm title, 12 years after his first.

"I tried to push through. I don't know how I pulled up but I kept believing and fighting." - Gael Monfils

Even in victory, though, it was brotherhood first for 'La Monf.'

“Credit to Pavel, he has had an unbelievable week, and he was pushing me on the court,” Monfils said of Kotov. “I ran a lot today. When I had to save break points in the second set, I tried to push through. I don't know how I pulled up but I kept believing and fighting."

Bublik didn’t have to save much of anything in Antwerp. He dropped one set in four matches, and was dominant on his serve against Arthur Fils in the final. Through the tournament, the 6-foot-5 Moscow native won 136 of 148 points on his first serve, and 36 of 37 in the final. Every time Fils managed to do something in a Bublik service game, the packed house in Antwerp got behind him and tried to rally him. And then Bublik silenced them again with a bullet serve.

There was little of the exhibition-style showmanship and high-risk shot-section that we’ve come to expect from Bublik, who hardly changed expressions through his one-sided, 75-minute win. Despite that performance, it’s still impossible to make predictions about him. This year, Bublik won a title in Halle and made the fourth round at Wimbledon; then he won just one match in his next seven tournaments.

Still, if he has the will, his serve gives him a way.

Like Monfils, though, Bublik may never feel the need to win every match he plays. And like Monfils, he had nothing but praise for his opponent afterward.

“I was pretty much serving [well] all match,” Bublik said. “I told Arthur I was very lucky to beat him in a final before he becomes the next big thing. That was the only option I had, and I executed it well."

Sometimes flash hides a lack of substance. This week, these three champs showed that pleasing crowds doesn’t mean you can’t win titles, too.