MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — The next stop on Ben Shelton’s first trip outside the United States will be a stop in the Australian Open quarterfinals.
The 20-year-old NCAA champion from the University of Florida extended his stay in his debut at Melbourne Park by pulling out a 6-7 (5), 6-2, 6-7 (4), 7-6 (4), 6-2 victory over J.J. Wolf in an all-American matchup in John Cain Arena on Monday.
Shelton is playing in only his second Grand Slam tournament — and using his passport for the first time — and he credited himself with being “energetic” and “courageous” across the more than 3 1/2 hours he and Wolf traded big cuts and momentum shifts on a day where the temperature rose above 80 degrees Fahrenheit (25 degrees Celsius).
The left-handed Shelton comes equipped with a powerful serve that produced the fastest offering of the tournament so far, at 142 mph (228 kph) during his first-round victory, an instinct for defense and a competitive streak.
At times a bit quiet in the early going under the sun, Shelton grew more and more loud and animated as the shadows crept across the blue playing surface and the scoreline increased the intensity.
He would throw uppercuts and yell, “Come on!” or “Let’s go!” after winning points, and when the close contest came to a close, Shelton jutted out his tongue and flexed his arms.
“Definitely a grueling match,” said Shelton, whose father, Bryan, reached a career-best ranking of No. 55 as a pro and now coaches the Florida men’s team.
The younger Shelton joins Sebastian Korda — his dad won the 1998 Australian Open — to give the U.S. at least two men in the quarterfinals in Melbourne for the first time since 2007.
Yet another American could join them because Tommy Paul was in fourth-round action Monday, too, going up against No. 24 Roberto Bautista Agut of Spain.
Also reaching the men’s quarterfinals with a five-set win Monday was No. 5 seed Andrey Rublev.
The Russian kept coming back, kept coming back, kept coming back — from down 5-2 in the fifth set, then facing a pair of match points while trailing 6-5, then from 5-0 and 7-2 in the first-to-10 concluding tiebreaker — before finally putting away No. 9 Holger Rune 6-3, 3-6, 6-3, 4-6, 7-6 (11-9) at Rod Laver Arena.
Rublev won it when his backhand return slipped off the net cord and barely, just barely, made it over onto Rune’s side of the court, impossible to reach. Rublev dropped to his back at the baseline and raised both arms as if to say, “Sorry!” — or perhaps “Sorry. Not sorry!” — while Rune also flung away his racket.
In the quarterfinals, Rublev will meet either 21-time Grand Slam champion Novak Djokovic, the last man in the field with so many as one major trophy, or Australian Alex de Minaur, while Shelton’s next opponent is going to be Paul or Bautista Agut.
Advancing in the women’s draw Monday were Magda Linette — into the quarterfinals of a Slam for the first time at age 31 and in her 30th appearance at a major — Karolina Pliskova, Aryna Sabalenka and Donna Vekic.
Linette will play Pliskova, while Sabalenka will face Vekic for semifinal berths. On the other side of the bracket, it’ll be Jessica Pegula vs. Victoria Azarenka, and Elena Rybakina vs. Jelena Ostapenko.
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