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| joyous Ben Shelton |
At the Australian Open, Ben Shelton is consistently demonstrating his remarkable potential and the possibility of a bright future.
In a match between two Americans, the young gun JJ Wlosing battled back to win the opening set 6-7(5) 6-2. In just his second Slam competition, he won by scores of 6-7(4) 7-6(4) 6-2 to get to his first Grand Slam quarterfinal.
Wolf defeated Shelton 7-6(5) in the opening set after Shelton missed a crucial volley opportunity at 4-5 in the tiebreak.
After 1 hour and 25 minutes, the 20-year-old breaks first in the second set at 4-2, winning the set 6-2.
Shelton played brilliantly from 0-30 to force a tiebreak and then a mini-break at 3-3 in the third. Wolf played stronger in the tiebreak and won the set 7-6(4), taking a two-set advantage over the kid.
The fourth set's high point would be Shelton's 3-3 tie thanks to a strong hold. He made some mistakes in yet another tiebreak, which he won 7-6(4) to force a five-set showdown.
Shelton took the lead at 2-0, 3-0, and 6-2 in the fifth set before winning the match decisively.
The 2022 NCAA singles champion, who only went pro six months ago and traveled outside the United States for Melbourne, had so far a wonderful tournament. He is the first male player who was born in 2002 to make it to the quarterfinals of a Slam.
So far, it has only been a dream. In his post-game interview, he remarked.
After winning the NCAA singles title in June, Shelton was not a professional athlete and was not even in the top 500. At worst, he will be ranked N0. 43 following the Australian Open.
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