A day after finishing off a second round of Wimbledon match in about a minute, American Ben Shelton was extremely efficient against Merton Fuccovis on Saturday, winning straight sets to reach the 16th round at the All-England Club for the second year in a row.
Shelton, who played semifinals at the Australian Open and Roland Garros in the fourth round at the age of 22, is the youngest American man to appear in three big round rounds in a year since Andy Roddick did so shortly after his 22nd birthday.
Shelton also became the fourth American in the last 20 years, winning his first three Wimbledon matches in straight sets, following Tommy Paul and Taylor Fritz in 2022 and Roddick in 2007.
Shelton, who recently fell a top ten in the ATP, is the only American with Fritz remaining in the draw. They are on the other side, with the fifth seed Fritz set to face Australia’s Jordan Thompson on Sunday, and will be competing in the fourth round spot.
“I had so much fun,” Shelton said of his 6-3, 7-6 (4) and 6-2 victory. “It’s always a special play at Wimbledon… Court 1 is a special court.”
He then added, “I’m trying to make a way to center the courts – I’ll probably get there someday.”
Throughout three games at the All-England Club, Shelton played 6 hours and 41 minutes. His opponent in the next round, Italy’s Lorenzo Sonego, played five hours and four minutes on Saturday alone, and spent nine hours and 49 minutes in court for the tournament.
Shelton and Sonego played in the French Open last time, with the Americans winning in five sets.
ESPN research contributed to this report.
