Ben Shelton gave Novak Djokovic the coldest glare after phone celebration

The next match between Novak Djokovic and Ben Shelton should be a great one.

Djokovic beat Shelton 6-3, 6-2, 7-6 (4) in the semifinals of the US Open at Flushing Meadows, N.Y. on Friday to reach the finals. After his victory, Djokovic trolled Shelton by doing the same hang-up-the-phone celebration that the American did in the quarterfinals (video here).

The mocking phone celebration from Djokovic did not go down too well with the 20-year-old American, who gave the Serbian an icy glare when they shook hands at the net.

This is Ben Shelton's villain origin story pic.twitter.com/tvt3CQYyHm

— Bastien Fachan (@BastienFachan) September 8, 2023

It seemed pretty clear that Shelton saw Djokovic mock him and responded accordingly. But during his postgame media appearance, Shelton denied having seen the phone celebration until after the match.

“I didn’t see [the phone celebration] until after the match,” Shelton said.

Shelton also didn’t publicly take an issue with Djokovic’s actions.

“I don’t like when I’m on social media and I see people telling me how I can celebrate or can’t celebrate. I think if you win the match, you deserve to do whatever you want. As a kid growing up, I always learned that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.”

Ben Shelton on Novak Djokovic doing his phone celebration at US Open:

“I didn’t see it until after the match. I don’t like when I’m on social media and I see people telling me how I can or can’t celebrate. If you win the match you deserve to do whatever you want. As a kid… pic.twitter.com/Xj8dDpocvH

— The Tennis Letter (@TheTennisLetter) September 8, 2023

Are you buying that? Not with the icy glare Shelton gave Djokovic.

Nole may have thought he was teaching Shelton a lesson about celebrations, but it doesn’t seem like the young American will be changing his ways.