MELBOURNE (AP) — The next stop in Ben Shelton’s impressive Australian Open debut will be the quarterfinals.
The 20-year-old NCAA champion posted a 6-7 (5), 6-2, 6-7 (4), 7-6 (4), 6-2 victory over JJ Wolf on Monday in an all-American matchup. at Melbourne Park’s John Cain Arena.
Shelton is playing his second Grand Slam tournament and is on the first trip of his life outside the United States.
Now 89th-ranked Shelton will face another unseeded American, 35th-seeded Tommy Paul, who eliminated 24th-seeded Roberto Bautista of Spain 6-2, 4-6, 6-2, 7-5 on Monday. .
They join Sebastian Korda in giving the United States at least two men in the quarterfinals in Australia for the first time since 2007.
Shelton, Paul and Korda reach the round of 16 for the first time. That, obviously, is not the case for Novak Djokovic, with 21 Grand Slam titles under his belt. The Serb looked invincible in a smashing 6-2, 6-1, 6-2 win over 22nd-place Australian Alex de Minaur and said the hamstring in his left leg was no longer giving him trouble.
“Today I didn’t feel anything,” said Djokovic, who said he was taking “a lot” of anti-inflammatories.
Djokovic, who missed the tournament last year because he was not vaccinated against COVID-19, moved a little closer to his 10th title in Melbourne without facing a break point.
He will now play 5th seed Andrey Rublev, who advanced to the round with a five-set victory. The Russian rallied again and again from successive deficits to defeat 9th-seeded Holger Rune 6-3, 3-6, 6-3, 4-6, 7-6 (11-9) at Rod Laver Arena.
The women’s quarterfinals will pit Magda Linette – who reaches the quarterfinals of a Grand Slam for the first time at age 31 – against Karolina Pliskova and Aryna Sabalenka against Donna Vekic.
Fifth-seeded Sabalenka of Belarus defeated Belinda Bencic 7-5, 6-2 on Monday. A double fault from Bencic saw her lose the first set, putting Sabalenka in control from then on.
Top seed Iga Swiatek and number two Ons Jabeur were eliminated, leaving third-seeded Jessica Pegula as the highest-ranked woman in the tournament’s top eight.
“I am very happy with today’s victory,” said Sabalenka. “She (Bencic) is an incredible player. She played very well. I’m really happy with my level today.”
Sabalenka indicated that she has worked hard on controlling her emotions during matches.
“It has taken me some time to understand that negative emotions are not going to help me on the court,” he said. “You just have to stay strong and believe, no matter what.”
