Things looked bleak for Ben Shelton early Monday, but the highest-ranked American player in the Australian Open draw bounced back to reach the quarterfinals for the third time in his career.
It looked like that wasn’t going to happen early on, as Shelton dropped the first set to Casper Ruud, who won 6-3. Given the tightness of the matchup, with Shelton ranked No. 8 and Ruud ranked No. 12 going into this matchup, either player could have taken an early lead and would have had a huge advantage if they had won the first set.
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But Shelton built the match from there. He won the next three sets and the match against Ruud, winning the second set 6-4, the third 6-3 and the fourth 6-4.
Shelton has never won the Australian Open, but he has reached the quarterfinals of the tournament two other times. In 2023, he lost a round to fellow American Tommy Paul. Last year, Shelton defeated Lorenzo Sonego to reach the semifinals for the first time in his career. However, he lost in the round to Jannik Sinner.
However, Shelton will have a chance for revenge in two days, as he is scheduled to face Sinner again in the quarterfinals on Wednesday.
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Sinner was able to beat Luciano Daldelli in straight sets on Monday, much to Daldelli’s frustration. The Italian shot the ball into the stands after losing the first set against Sinner.
On the men’s side, Novak Djokovic advanced to the quarterfinals with a walkover. His opponent, Jakub Mensik, was forced to withdraw from the Australian Open due to injury. Djokovic has reached the quarterfinals of this tournament for the 16th time in his career.
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The two highly ranked women who were set to take the court early Monday had no problems with their opponents. Iga Swiatek, No. 2 in the women’s rankings, easily dispatched Madison Inglis on Monday, winning 6-0, 6-3. Similarly, Elena Rybakina had no trouble defeating Elise Mertens, winning 6-1, 6-3.
These wins set up a head-to-head showdown between Swiatek and Rybakina in the quarterfinals. This will be the 12th time the two players have faced each other on court. The two fighters are almost evenly matched, with Swiatek holding a slight lead over Rybakina at 6-5 during her career.
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Rybakina has reached the finals of this tournament before, but never won. Despite having so much success in the sport, Swiatek is still seeking his first Australian Open title and has never progressed beyond the semi-final round.
