Ben Shelton has been destined for tennis greatness since he was a young person. The 22-year-old budding famous person was an achieved participant earlier than turning into skilled, profitable a singles title within the NCAA Division I Tennis Championships. He was additionally named Intercollegiate Tennis Affiliation (ITA) Nationwide Participant of the 12 months, and he was coached by his father, former tennis participant and tennis coach Bryan Shelton.
Now, Shelton, ranked #20 on the planet, seems to be to make his first profession singles grand slam remaining when he faces world #1 and two-time grand slam winner Jannik Sinner on Jan. 24 within the Australian Open semifinals. With a semifinals victory, he would be part of fellow Black American Madison Keys, who will play Aryna Sabalenka within the Australian Open girls’s remaining on Jan 25.
An American man has not received a grand slam title since Andy Roddick on the 2003 US Open.
Shelton additionally made headlines as he superior to the Australian Open semifinals when the Australian broadcast media requested him about nobody cheering for him after his victory.
“I’ve been a bit of bit shocked this week with how gamers have been handled by the broadcasters, and I don’t suppose that the man who mocked Novak (Djokovic) I don’t suppose was only a single occasion,” Shelton mentioned.
“There have been some feedback which have been made to me in post-match interviews by a few totally different guys, whether or not it was, ‘Hey, Monfils is sufficiently old to be your dad, possibly he’s your dad,’ or as we speak on the courtroom, ‘Hey Ben, how does it really feel that regardless of who you play in your subsequent match, nobody’s going to be cheering for you?’ … I really feel like there’s simply been loads of negativity, and I feel that’s one thing that should change.”
Shelton can change that and much more if he wins two extra matches on the Australian Open.