Australian Open: Atlanta native Ben Shelton advances to face Jannik Sinner in quarterfinals

MELBOURNE — After he lost the opening set, Atlanta native Ben Shelton won three straight sets on Monday to advance to the Australian Open quarterfinals.

Shelton defeated Casper Ruud (3-6, 6-4, 6-3, 6-4) and will face Jannik Sinner in a rematch of last year’s semifinal match in Melbourne.

“I wanted to be here. I wanted to give myself another shot,” he said on ESPN. “I have a lot more that I want to do here and a lot more to prove.”

[DOWNLOAD: Free WSB-TV News app for alerts as news breaks]

Shelton was born in Atlanta and raised here for the first half of his life.

“I lived there until I was like 11 years old, something like that. So first 11 years of my life, I lived there, but it’s always, you know, been my favorite city,” Shelton previously told Channel 2’s Karyn Greer.

Shelton comes from an accomplished tennis family.

His father, Bryan Shelton, is a former All-American at Georgia Tech and coached the women’s tennis team. His mother, Lisa, was also a highly ranked tennis player.

Bryan still serves as Ben’s coach today.

“My dad kind of paved the way. Being a black kid in Alabama in the 70s and 80s, growing up, trying to play tennis predominantly, you know, a white sport at the time, or pretty much an all-white sport at the time, was not easy,” Shelton said.

[SIGN UP: WSB-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter]

©2026 Cox Media Group