Ben Shelton, a 22-year-old Atlanta native, is through to his first career Australian Open semifinal after defeating Italy’s Lorenzo Sonego 6-4, 7-5, 4-6, 7-6 (4) on Wednesday in Melbourne.

Shelton has competed in only one previous Grand Slam semifinal, when he lost to eventual champion Novak Djokovic of Serbia at the 2023 U.S. Open.

On Wednesday, Shelton prevailed by playing a steadier ground game than his opponent. Sonego finished with a slight edge in winners, 63-54, but he committed far more unforced errors, 55-33.

“I feel relieved right now, shoutout to Lorenzo Sonego because that was some ridiculous tennis,” Shelton said postmatch on the court. “I’m just really happy to be through, to get my first win on Rod Laver Arena. Thanks everybody for coming out, it was one of my favorite matches of my career.”

The event’s 21st seed, Shelton has met just one seeded player in the current fortnight, when he downed No. 16 Lorenzo Musetti of Italy in the third round. His semifinal foe will be the winner of the last quarterfinal on Wednesday: reigning champion and top seed Jannik Sinner of Italy vs. No. 8 seed Alex de Minaur of Australia.

Shelton told the crowd regarding his potential Friday foe, “If it’s the home favorite Alex de Minaur, you guys can boo me, throw stuff at my head. I understand. If it’s the No. 1 in the world, it’ll probably be the same, so I’m looking forward to it. I know I got a few in the crowd who are going to be pulling for me, too.”

Shelton owns just two ATP tournament titles, both in relatively minor events: the 2023 Japan Open in Tokyo and the 2024 U.S. Men’s Clay Court Championships in Houston. Last year, he failed to reach the quarterfinals in all four Grand Slam tournaments.

–Field Level Media