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Ben Shelton's Gator greatness goes global with another Australian Open run

On3 imageby:Keith Niebuhr•about 10 hours•

On3Keith

Ben Shelton
Ben Shelton (University Athletic Association)

For former Florida Gators tennis star Ben Shelton, greatness now is only two victories away. Shelton, who won NCAA team and individual championships at UF, on Wednesday advanced to the semifinals of the Australian Open, one of the four majors in professional tennis. Shelton, the No. 20-ranked player in the world, beat No. 55 Lorenzo Sonego of Italy 6-4, 7-5, 4-6, 7-6 (4) to move on.

“I’m relieved,” Shelton said after the win. “Shout out Lorenzo Sonego because that was some ridiculous tennis. … I was just grinding out there, trying to fight through it. I’m just proud of myself to get through. I definitely feel battle-tested.”

Winning his first Grand Slam event won’t be easy for the 22-year-old Shelton. He next faces Jannik Sinner of Italy, the No. 1-ranked player in the world, on Friday. The other semifinal is between Novak Djokovic, arguably the greatest tennis player the game has ever known, and No. 2-ranked Alexander Zverev of Germany.

Djokovic now 37, has won a staggering 24 Grand Slam men’s singles titles, the all-time record. Sinner owns two Grand Slam wins, the Australian Open and U.S. Open in 2024. Shelton and Zverev are vying to win their first majors. Per UPI, Shelton and Madison Keys “became the first American man and woman to reach the Australian Open semifinals in the same year since 2009.”

Ben Shelton is trying to make history

For Shelton, who won the NCAA team championship with the Gators in 2021 and was the NCAA individual winner the following year, this matches his deepest run in a Grand Slam event. Shelton also was a semifinalist at the 2023 U.S. Open. He lost that match to Djokovic, the eventual tournament champion, in straight sets.

Ben Shelton is 5–12 all time vs. players ranked in the top 10 when he faced them. That includes a win over Sinner, then ranked No. 4, at the Shanghai Masters in 2023. That is his lone victory over Sinner in five tries.

The last NCAA men’s tennis champion to win a Grand Slam single event? That would be the legendary John McEnroe. He claimed the NCAA title at Stanford in 1978, then went on to win the US Open four times and Wimbledon three times.

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