Ben Shelton reacts to the news of matching his dad’s record at Wimbledon, indicates that there is more to come

Shelton reached the fourth round of the English Slam exactly 30 years after his father found himself in the same position.

Ben Shelton reacts to the news of matching his dad’s record at Wimbledon, indicates that there is more to come

Ben Shelton and Bryan Shelton (Via Imago)

30 years after his father reached the fourth round of Wimbledon, American star Ben Shelton fought his way into his own fourth-round spot at the championships. In the third round, Shelton outlasted Denis Shapovalov in a rollercoaster five-setter.

During his on-court interview after the match, Shelton was informed that his father, Bryan, had reached this exact stage at Wimbledon 30 years ago and asked how special that news made his third-round win. Bryan Shelton was present in his son’s box and the crowd went wild as they heard the piece of information that was given to Ben.

YouTube video

Ben looked at his dad and said “We’re back big dog,” indicating that he is carrying his name responsibly and also attracted a positive reaction from the audience.

FS Video

Bryan Shelton, Ben’s father and coach, has been an accomplished tennis player himself, having reached a career-high ranking of No.55 in the world. His best result was at the 1994 Wimbledon where he went down to Christian Bergstrom of Sweden in five sets.

His son, who overtook his best ranking last year, has now matched this result with his display of relentlessness and is primed to face the World No.1, Jannik Sinner, for a spot in the last eight.

Ben Shelton faces the Jannik Sinner challenge next

Ben Shelton became one of the very few people to have played five-setters in each of their first three rounds at Wimbledon. To top that, the young American also won all of those matches and seems unscathed by them as he gears up for the second week.

Jannik-Sinner-Ben-Shelton
Jannik Sinner (L) and Ben Shelton (R) (Images via IMAGO)

The 14th seed had to come back from two sets to one down in the first two rounds against Mattia Bellucci of Italy and Lloyd Harris of South Africa respectively. He won the first round 4-6, 6-3, 3-6, 6-3, 6-4, and the second round 4-6, 7-6(5), 6-7(5), 6-3, 7-6(10-7). On Saturday, he overcame Denis Shapovalov of Canada 6-7(4), 6-2, 6-4, 4-6, 6-2, to secure a spot in the second week.

In his fourth-round match on Sunday, he will take on Jannik Sinner, the new World No.1, who has only dropped one set so far. Shelton is also participating in the doubles event partnering with his compatriot MacKenzie McDonald, which may put additional strain on his body that has already been pushed to the limits. His fitness, both mental and physical, will be tested when he battles Sinner in the fourth meeting of their careers. Sinner leads the head-to-head 2-1.

In Case You Missed It: