Ben Shelton plays tennis with ex-NBA Rudy Fernandez in Mallorca

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Shelton plays tennis with ex-NBA star in Mallorca: 'Maybe something rubbed off from Rafa'

Pair played tennis and basketball at grass ATP 250

Mallorca Championships Rudy Fernandez and Ben Shelton on Sunday in Mallorca. By ATPTour.com/es Staff

Mallorca is a breeding ground for talent. Famously, the small Mediterranean island has produced some of the biggest names in tennis this century, from Carlos Moya to Rafael Nadal. But it can also count an international basketball star among its ranks in Rudy Fernandez.

The former Portland Trail Blazer and Denver Nuggets player on Sunday visited the Mallorca Championships presented by ecotrans Group, where he met the grass ATP 250 tournament’s top seed, Ben Shelton.

After greeting each other on the tennis court, the No. 10 in the PIF ATP Rankings Shelton took the lead and invited his guest to a few rallies. The American was surprised by Fernandez’s ability with racquet in hand.

“He’s a better tennis player than I was expecting,” admitted Shelton after challenging Fernandez, who also represented Real Madrid and Joventut Badalona in the Spanish basketball league. “He told me that he plays golf sometimes with Rafa [Nadal], so maybe something has rubbed off from Rafa because his forehand is pretty good.”

But the challenges did not stop there. After knocking up on the courts of the Mallorca Country Club, it was then Shelton’s turn to show off his skills with a basketball under the watchful eye of a crowd of fans who were following the showdown between the two stars.

“It was fun, Rudy is a really nice guy, I’d never met him before,” continued Shelton. “I knew about him. There aren’t many Spanish players who have played in the NBA. He played in the Spanish league and also for Portland and Denver, so it was great to meet him.”

Shelton did not back down from the challenge and proved to be just as handy with a basketball as Rudy Fernandez was on the tennis court. The American even provided his new acquaintance with an alley-oop, which Rudy duly dunked home.

“He’s a great guy. He spends his summers in the USA. It was fun, really fun,” reflected Shelton. “I love playing basketball. It’s fun, probably my second-favourite sport and I like watching it too.”

Editor's note: This story was translated from ATPTour.com/es

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