Former Gator Ben Shelton’s results through two rounds at Wimbledon

Former Gator and world No. 14 Ben Shelton is headed to the third round at Wimbledon, but it hasn’t been easy by any means.

Ben Shelton has been climbing up the world rankings since he left the University of Florida two years ago to begin his pro career, and he entered the 2024 Wimbledon Championships as the No. 14 seed.

The former Gator advanced to the third round of play after defeating South African Lloyd Harris in five sets on Thursday, with a scoreline of 4-6, 7-6 (7/5), 6-7 (7/5), 6-3, 7-6 (10/7). Shelton defeated 23-year-old Italian qualifier Mattia Bellucci in the first round, also needing a final set tiebreaker.

Shelton egged on the Americans in the crowd during the final set tiebreak, earning chants of “USA! USA! USA!” on the fourth of July. Those same fans and Shelton) erupted when Harris sent a backhand wide to close things out.

Shelton didn’t have his best stuff early on. He wasn’t using his power to serve as much as he needed to and relied on a shaky drop shot too frequently. Sticking to his game paid off in the end, as Shelton improved in the final sets.

Ben Shelton’s next Wimbledon opponent

Shelton’s third-round matchup is Canadian Denis Shapovalov, who is currently ranked 120th with a protected ranking of 27th.

Shapovalov made it to the fourth round at Wimbledon last year, but he lost while playing with a hurt knee. He withdrew from his next tournament and spent the rest of the year recovering from the injury. Despite two tournament wins this year, Shapovalov has put together a disappointing 12-15 record in 2024.

Shelton is chasing another deep run on the Grand Slam stage after making the semifinals of the 2023 US Open.

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