It’s always great to be a Florida Gator, even in the land of the rising sun.
Former Florida Gators tennis standout [autotag]Ben Shelton[/autotag] earned the first ATP Tour title of his nascent professional career on Sunday morning Kinoshita Group Japan Open Tennis Championships, where he defeated Aslan Karatsev 7-5, 6-1.
The former Gator used an enormous comeback in his semi-final match against Marcos Giron to reach the finals, which also helped propel him to the trophy stand in Tokyo. The momentum from the semis must have carried over, as Shelton dispatched Karatsev in just 84 minutes.
“That meant a lot to me and my team,” Shelton said. “We have been working really hard since the beginning to build my game and win titles on the ATP Tour. I made some deep runs lately. You see the great champions, they finish weeks off. They win titles, they don’t just get to finals. They are able to maintain their level throughout the week. I am not saying I am anywhere there yet, but to be able to do it for one week, put together five matches in a row in Tokyo is really special.”
Shelton is the sixth first-time tour-level winner of the season and the first player since Lorenzo Musetti in Hamburg in 2022 to win his debut ATP Tour title at a 500 event. Additionally, the young American is the youngest Tokyo champion since Lleyton Hewitt in 2001, who was 20 years old when he won his first title.
He joins father Bryan Shelton as an ATP Tour titlist, becoming the fourth father-son duo to win tour-level singles titles in the Open Era (since 1968).
Novak Djokovic ultimately proved too much for the young former Gator, but time is on Ben Shelton’s side.
Former Florida tennis standout [autotag]Ben Shelton[/autotag]’s magical run at the 2023 U.S. Open held in Flushing, New York, came to an end on Friday with a semifinal loss to one of the best to ever play the game: Novak Djokovic.
The 20-year-old Gator fell to his opponent in straight sets, 6-3, 6-2, 7-6 (4), after becoming the youngest American man in the U.S. Open semifinals since Michael Chang in 1992 to reach the semis. However, Shelton was simply overwhelmed by a superior opponent and despite pushing hard in the final set, he took the defeat.
Djokovic vs. Shelton was a mismatch coming into Friday’s affair as the former was participating in his record 47th Slam semifinal and his 100th US Open match, while the latter was ranked 47th and in only his seventh career match at the Open.
Below are highlights from Ben Shelton’s disappointing loss in the U.S. Open semifinals against Novak Djokovic.
Novak Djokovic gave the budding star a taste of his own medicine after knocking off Ben Shelton in straight sets during Friday’s semifinal.
Ben Shelton’s magical run at the 2023 U.S. Open came to an end on Friday afternoon.
The 20-year-old stunned No. 10-seeded Francis Tiafoe in the men’s singles quarterfinal round, but he was overpowered by two-seeded Novak Djokovic, a three-time singles champion at the event, in the semifinal round at Arthur Ashe Stadium in New York.
After knocking off Tiafoe on Tuesday night, Shelton sported his trademark phone celebration. But when Djokovic defeated Shelton in straight sets to advance to the final round, the all-time leader in men’s Grand Slam singles titles returned the favor.
Djokovic mimicked Shelton’s phone hand signal before emphatically hanging it up.
— CJ Fogler account may or may not be notable (@cjzero) September 8, 2023
Shelton, who turned pro last August and reached the quarterfinal round of his first Grand Slam appearance at the Australian Open earlier this year, undoubtedly has an incredibly bright future ahead of him, potentially as the face of U.S. men’s tennis.
But he ran into a juggernaut in Djokovic — one of the greatest players of all time — who didn’t hesitate to give Shelton a taste of his own medicine.
Ben Shelton just played his best match yet, but he’ll need more for Djokovic
This is the online version of our daily newsletter, The Morning Win. Subscribe to get irreverent and incisive sports stories, delivered to your mailbox every morning. Here’s Mike Sykes.
Ben Shelton has arrived, folks. And he wants you to know it, too. A star has been born.
He’s loud. He’s brash. He’s plucky. He’s confident, but also a bit cocky. He’s got tons of energy and celebrations to go along with that. But he’s got a monster serve that regularly tops 140 mph to back all of that up.
It was an absolute gem of a match that included one of the wildest third sets I’ve seen in years. The two took turns breaking each other’s serves and gave us an absolute epic of a tiebreaker that looked like it was going to go Tiafoe’s way.
Granted, that’s not the greatest serve from Tiafoe. But that’s still an incredibly impressive return from Shelton. He just kept painting the corners of the court with that big lefty forehand of his. Those aren’t shots people are supposed to be able to hit — Tiafoe said it himself. Yet, here Shelton is. Crushing them. On the biggest stage of his young career.
This time last year he’d just made the jump to turning pro after a 65-10 stint through two years of tennis at the University of Florida. Now, he’s headed to the US Open semifinals to play Novak Djokovic — the only person left standing in the way of him making his very first Grand Slam final debut.
We’ve seen some pretty tight MVP races across sports in recent years, but what we’re seeing right now between Breanna Stewart, A’ja Wilson and Alyssa Thomas is getting pretty ridiculous.
It’s like the three of them are making history every single time they touch the court at this point and it’s the final week of the WNBA season. Just last night, two of the three did something we’ve never seen before.
Alyssa Thomas finished notched her sixth triple-double of the season, which is already a record. But she also had 27 points, 12 rebounds, 14 assists and six steals, which has also never been done before.
A’ja Wilson didn’t play last night, but if she did I’m absolutely certain she would’ve dropped 60 points or something crazy. Just for good measure.
There’s not a wrong pick between this trio. Maybe it comes down to the team record for you. Is the MVP the best player on the best team? That would be A’ja Wilson. Maybe it’s the player who raises her team’s talent the most. I’d say that’d be Alyssa Thomas. Maybe it’s just the best player overall. Most would say that’s Breanna Stewart.
I don’t know who is going to win it between these three. All I can tell you is I’m glad I don’t have a vote.
Some Travis Hunter Heisman fodder
Travis Hunter is picking himself for the Heisman trophy and I can’t blame him. He’s absolutely right. FTW’s Prince Grimes has more from Hunter here.
“It was an Aug. 5 Instagram post, and alongside a photo of himself in full uniform, Hunter posted a caption that simply read, “HEISMAN LOADING…”
“He doubled-down a few weeks later, in the first episode of his live Bleacher Report show, 12 Talks, listing himself first in a ranking of Heisman candidates for the new season: “Both sides of the ball. I’m going for it all,” Hunter said. ‘Gots to. Sophomore year. Like I said on Instagram, Heisman loading. That’s my goal.’,”
Normally, it just feels a bit too brash to see someone picking themselves for the Heisman like this. Especially this early in the season. But after Hunter’s game? It sort of feels warranted. The dude was that good in week one for Colorado with his two-way dominance.
He had 11 receptions for 119 yards and an interception. That just doesn’t happen very often. Chris Gamble (2002) was the last player to have at least 20 receptions and three interceptions in a season.
But can he keep this up? Here’s a wild stat for you: Hunter played in 144 snaps on Saturday, per Pro Football Focus. He’s on pace for 1,728. That number just doesn’t seem sustainable.
If he somehow finds a way to push through, though, that Heisman is undoubtedly his. He’s absolutely right.
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With the win, Shelton now faces Novak Djokovic on Friday in the semifinals.
Former Florida tennis standout [autotag]Ben Shelton[/autotag] continued his magical run at the 2023 U.S. Open held in Flushing, New York, on Tuesday with a quarterfinal win over fellow American, Frances Tiafoe. The 20-year-old Gator outlasted his opponent, 6-2, 3-6, 7-6 (9-7), 6-2, to become the youngest American man in the U.S. Open semifinals since Michael Chang in 1992.
Tiafoe seemed to have early jitters playing such a hyped-up match despite being the higher-seeded and more experienced player; Shelton, on the other hand, had the benefit of lower expectations against his 25-year-old opponent. The former finished with 14 aces but 11 double faults in a back-and-forth match that featured big hits and equally big misses while the latter’s serve started to waver as the game wore on.
Nonetheless, the 2022 NCAA champion outlasted his fellow countryman and earned a trip to the next round. In the semifinals, the great Novak Djokovic who is seeded second in the tournament awaits the young up-and-comer.
In the meantime, take a look below at highlights from Shelton’s U.S. Open quarterfinals win on Tuesday.
Get a glimpse of what former Gator Ben Shelton was up to on Sunday at the U. S. Open.
Former Florida tennis standout Ben Shelton put up a stellar performance on Sunday against Tommy Paul on Day 7 of the 2023 U.S. Open held in Flushing, New York. Armed with his vicious power serve, the 20-year-old earned a trip to the quarterfinals thanks to a five-set victory over Paul (6-4, 6-3, 4-6, 6-4).
The two had tangled before at the Australian Open at the start of the year, with Shelton taking the four-set defeat despite being up 4-1 in the third. The Gator alumnus credits the increased mental tenacity developed from that failure as the source of his success.
“I learned to be mentally tough,” Shelton told Eurosport. “When I was playing in Australia after a long week I was looking at my box saying ‘My legs are dead, I am tired, I can’t go anymore’. I realized how important it is to believe in myself. That I can go the full way emotionally and physically and now I have that belief here.”
Shelton’s serve topped out at 149 mph in the third set — good enough for an ace — and has been clocked in the upper 140s during his time in Flushing. He will face Frances Tiafoe on Tuesday in the quarterfinals.
In the meantime, take a look below at highlights from Shelton’s big U.S. Open win on Sunday against Tommy Paul on Day 7 of hardcourt action.
Ben Shelton may have moved on from UF to pursue his professional tennis career, but the former national champion will be back in Gainesville for the USF game.
Before Florida hits the road to face Tennessee in Week 4, the Gators have a third-straight home game in the Swamp on Saturday. Another home contest means that another honorary [autotag]Mr. Two Bits[/autotag] needs to be designated, and the UAA has announced that former Gator tennis star [autotag]Ben Shelton[/autotag] will take over the role in Week 3.
Shelton is just 19 years old, but he turned pro after accomplishing nearly all there is to offer in the collegiate world. He was a key member of the 2021 national championship team and claimed the singles championship in 2022.
He made his professional debut at the U.S. Open, falling in five sets during the opening round, but he’ll play in at least six more tournaments before the end of the year.
Over the first two weeks of the season, Florida went with some vets in the Two-Bits role. Legendary wide receiver [autotag]Anthony Reidel[/autotag] and track and field coach [autotag]Mike Holloway[/autotag] served in Weeks 1 and 2, respectively, but Shelton is a change of pace.
As young as he is, Shelton never got to actually see Mr. George E. Edmondson Jr. do his thing, but the UAA says that he’s been brought up to speed on things. It’s also believed that Shelton is the youngest person to serve in the role since the tradition started in 2013.
A pair of Gators competed at the U.S. Open Men’s Tennis Championships putting up impressive performances against some of the world’s best.
The excitement of game week is steadily rising in the Gator nation as we get closer and closer to Saturday’s kickoff. While a couple of sports have already begun their fall competition, we await the remainder of Florida’s programs who will be getting underway here in the next few weeks. In the meantime, we take one last look at the competition from this past summer — specifically, that of two men’s tennis players competing in the U. S. Open tennis tournament. Here is the latest news.
Members of the men’s tennis team were in action this summer, plus the volleyball team gets warmed up with a scrimmage in front of the fans.
Welcome back from a rainy weekend in Gainesville! The sports scene is pretty bare for the Gator Nation at the moment, but the lull is merely the calm before the autumn storm. The roundup from the past few days focuses mainly on members of the men’s tennis team in action this summer, plus the volleyball team gets warmed up with a scrimmage in front of the fans. Enjoy the calm while it lasts — there are less than three weeks until the college football kickoff.
