The American, who beat Nicolás Jarry in the second round, is the great revelation of the Oceanic Grand Slam. He is only 20 years old and after Melbourne he will be in the top 50 on the planet.
The story of Ben Shelton will remain in the memory of the 2023 edition of the Australian Open, and it is that the American’s passage through Melbourne marked history and left lessons. At the age of 20, he not only broke into the top eight at the first Grand Slam of the season, but also did so by playing his first event outside the United States. A unique blend.
On the one hand, his outburst demonstrates the innate talent of a player who has already had reached the third round of the Cincinnati Masters 1000 in what was his second professional tournament or that he received a US Open main draw invite after a college career that included an NCAA singles title.
But another part also demonstrates the great differences that exist between the actors who develop in the United States with those of other countries and continents. Shelton for example in May 2022, he completed his second year of college outside the Top 500 of the ATP ranking and with some ITF World Tour and Challengers contested. A reality that has changed profoundly in just eight months.
In early July 2022, he played his first Challenger final in Georgia, remaining 281 in the world. Thanks to this, he received an invitation to the ATP 250 in Atlanta (his first tournament in this category) and managed to win on his debut. The good feelings earned him the joker for Cincinnati and its historic third tower with win over Casper Ruud included . Yet he left Ohio with the record of being the first defending NCAA champion to win a Masters 1000 game in the same season.
He closed the year with an invitation to the main draw of the US Open (he lost in the first round) and three consecutive Challenger titles in Virginia, Tennessee and Illinois, which allowed him to enter the Top 100 of the ATP ranking. He did this without ever having traveled to compete outside of his country or have played a single match on clay or grass . A combination that reveals the great opportunities of living in a nation with a full presence in the months of competition and the talent of a boy who in Australia has already beaten Nicolás Jarry, Alexei Popyrin and JJ Wolf. Today, he is measured against Tommy Paul for the passage in the semi-finals.
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Source: Latercera
I’m Rose Brown , a journalist and writer with over 10 years of experience in the news industry. I specialize in covering tennis-related news for Athletistic, a leading sports media website. My writing is highly regarded for its quick turnaround and accuracy, as well as my ability to tell compelling stories about the sport.
