Shining bright like a diamond, the 22-year-old American Ben Shelton has cleared the third round of the Australian Open with flying colors after beating Italian Lorenzo Musetti in 3-1 sets! The 2023 Tokyo Open winner will be eyeing his second AO QF, which he first reached in 2023. However, where do you think the roots of his success are? Well, his father and coach, Bryan Shelton, is the mastermind behind his tennis success.
The 59-year-old started his coaching career as the head coach of Georgia Tech women’s program for 13 seasons, where he led the Yellow Jackets to a national title in 2007 before moving as a men’s tennis head coach at the University of Florida in 2012. In 2023, just before stepping down from his Florida career, Bryan became the fourth head coach in program history to win 200 matches, joining the leagues of Ian Duvenhage, Andy Jackson, and Bill Potter, the fastest among the four. But wait, that’s not it!
The 2023 season was marked as the first season under his leadership that produced five freshmen to the full roster, which was the most by a Florida team since 2008. In addition, he led the Florida team to the NCAA Tournament for the 10th time, which also made it the 31st consecutive appearance. And does he guide anyone to the All-American honors? Yes, absolutely!
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The American finished his 2023 season by helping Will Grant (doubles) and Axel Nefve (doubles, singles) to All-American honors, ranking No. 22 in the nation with a 14-14 record. And, before his collegiate coaching, he also spent one season as a national coach where he guided players like Andy Roddick, Mardy Fish, Robby Ginepri, and Bobby Reynolds.
Major successes of Bryan Shelton:
Named the 2019 SEC and ITA Southeast Region Coach of the Year
2022, 2021, 2019, 2016 SEC Coach of the Year
2022, 2021, 2019 ITA Southeast Region Coach of the Year
2002 Georgia Tennis Hall of Fame Inductee
Became the first coach in NCAA history to win a national title in both men’s and women’s tennis
Despite his brilliance in coaching, Bryan also played at ATP tour level for nine seasons. He won two singles and doubles titles, followed by career highest 7th time US Open, six-time Wimbledon and AO, and four French Open. The list doesn’t end here! As a player, he reached the 1993 French Open finals in the mixed doubles category with partner Lori McNeil was a semifinalist with McNeil in mixed doubles at Wimbledon in 1993 and eventually retired in the 1997 US Open.
The duo started their journey on 2nd June 2023. And, of course, Ben has forecasted that with an Instagram post. “My dad retired from collegiate coaching today. Congrats on everything you’ve accomplished in your 24 years out there. This isn’t a career that’s defined by championships and accolades, but by the people impacted and lives changed. You showed up to work every day and gave a perfect effort. You did things with character and humility no matter the situation. You’ve kept your faith wherever your life has taken you, and always put your family first,” Ben added.
“There isn’t a better role model for young men trying to find their way in life. The Gator Nation may have suffered a blow with this one, but we always bounce back. That being said, the dream team is back together baby Can’t wait to have you out on tour with me, and see what we can accomplish together,” he concluded. And, they got their first prize in the Tokyo Open when the fourth father-son duo on tour first got the taste of success.
So as things stand, the current world No. 20 will be hoping for a scintillating match at the AO with his father on his side today. However, his fourth-round match won’t be much easier, just like his entire AO tour till now.
Australian Open 2025: A preview of Ben Shelton cruising through 3 rounds, next is French Gael Monfils
Up and running from the get-go! After a disappointing ASB Classic where he was beaten at the RO 16 by Jakub Menshik, Ben Shelton has started off the AO in a flyer. He reached the fourth round at the AO, the second time in his career. However, it wasn’t as easy as it seems as Ben has survived major upsets till now.
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Ben’s AO tournament started with a tight match when he faced fellow American Brandon Nakashima in the first round. Despite a tough fight from the opposition, the 22-year-old came victorious, winning the match in three straight sets 7-6 (7-3), 7-5, 7-5. Following that match, he came head-to-head against Spaniard Pablo Careeno Busta, which also went into 4 sets. However, Ben won in 3-1 sets.
His third-round match was in the John Cain Arena, where he did not lose any matches till now, against 16-seed Italian Lorenzo Musetti. The match went into four sets where the first two were 6-3, 6-3 for both sides. Despite 1-1, the American came back strong, winning the third and fourth set 6-4, 7-6 (7-5) while booking his match against French ace Gael Monfils, who Ben watched while growing up. And, at the post-match following his third round, Ben added his remarks about the match.
via Reuters Tennis – U.S. Open – Flushing Meadows, New York, United States – August 26, 2024 Ben Shelton of the U.S. celebrates after winning his first round match against Austria’s Dominic Thiem REUTERS/Andrew Kelly
“I mean, there’s this one highlight tape and I feel like everyone’s watched on YouTube that’s just nuts. For me, the greatest tennis highlight tape of all time as Geal just a lot of athletic players, one of them being that I think it was at Roland-Garros when he dove for the overhead and then ended up winning the points going nuts. So for me, there’s like that one guy in all sports that you’re like man that guy’s got the greatest mixtape like hoop tape or NFL tape, college football was Tabon Austin he had the greatest tape of all time, for me it’s Gael Monfils,” he said.
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The fourth-round match for Ben is going to start in an hour from the famous Margaret Court Arena. With Bryan by his side, will Ben be able to beat Gael to advance in the QF? Share your thoughts below!