Ben Shelton survived his third five-setter of the fortnight Saturday to reach the fourth round at The Championships for the first time, setting a clash against top seed Jannik Sinner.
The 14th seed battled past 2021 Wimbledon semi-finalist Denis Shapovalov 6-7(4), 6-2, 6-4, 4-6, 6-2 in three hours and four minutes to become the first left-handed American man to make the fourth round at SW19 since John McEnroe in 1992.
"I definitely feel confident in how fit I am right now, how prepared I am to go the distance," Shelton said. "I know I'm going to fight until the end out there."
Ben bringing the energy as always ⚡️
R4 awaits after a win against Shapovalov 🔥@Wimbledon | #Wimbledon pic.twitter.com/qCoJ79vjkX
Shelton did it with a familiar face in the stands. Eight-time Wimbledon champion Roger Federer was at No. 1 Court to check out the action with his parents and longtime agent Tony Godsick. Federer’s agency, TEAM8, manages Shelton.
Ben's father and coach, Bryan Shelton, reached the fourth round at Wimbledon in 1994. In the first round, Bryan upset then-World No. 2 Michael Stich.
"[It is] pretty cool. I think a lot more impressive that he was able to do it back in the day, beating the No. 2 player in the world as 50-something in the world," Shelton said. "But really happy that we get to kind of share this moment together."
The American rallied from two-sets-to-one down in his first two matches against Mattia Bellucci and Lloyd Harris, respectively. On Saturday, he led by two sets to one and ultimately completed his victory by surging through his 15th set of the tournament.
[ATP APP]Shelton won the match by dominating the short points, winning the rallies of zero to four shots by a 131-107 margin. He won 81 per cent of his first-serve points and struck 38 winners to make the fourth round at a third major, having already accomplished the feat at the Australian Open (QF) and the US Open (SF).
Sinner advanced to the fourth round on Friday, while Shelton and Shapovalov were unable to complete a set before rain suspended play for the evening. The Italian leads the pair’s Lexus ATP Head2Head series 2-1. All three of their clashes have come within the past 10 months.
Shelton is now 6-2 in five-setters after clawing post Shapovalov. The Canadian, No. 136 in the PIF ATP Live Rankings, showed he is on his way back to the form that helped him crack the world's Top 10.
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