Having described his left shoulder injury as the “worst ever pain” he’d felt, Shelton is raring to go after spending more than a month on the sidelines.
“It’s getting there, as any injury is, it takes time to recover, but I wouldn’t show up to a tournament unless I thought I was ready,” the American told ATP Media ahead of the tournament.
“And that’s why I skipped a few, but should be ready to go now.”
The shoulder issue threatened to derail what has been a career-best season for Shelton so far.
The 22-year-old won his biggest title at the Masters 1000 in Toronto over the summer and followed it up with a quarter-final showing in Cincinnati before his emotional US Open retirement.
Shelton now sits at No. 6 in the race to Turin, with the eight best players qualifying for the ATP Finals. If he can keep himself inside the top eight, he will make his debut at the prestigious season-ending championships.
The former quarter-finalist in Shanghai added: “I’m very excited. It’s the first time that I’ve put myself in a good position at this point of the year to make Turin and hopefully get a couple more good results and get over the line.
“So for me, I’m happy with the way that I’ve played this year, what I’ve been able to do. I’m not done, I have more things I want to accomplish this year, and let’s see where we are in a month’s time.”
Shelton will be out for revenge when he meets Goffin on Friday. The Belgian tennis star stunned Shelton in Acapulco earlier this year, winning 7-6 6-3.
One person who is excited to see Shelton back on a tennis court is his girlfriend, USWNT star Trinity Rodman, who reposted some photos of Shelton practising on her Instagram story and wrote: “HE’SSSS BACKKKKK.”
