Before he started preparing for the Australian Open, American tennis player Ben Shelton had never been outside the US. The 20-year-old travelled outside the United States for the first time to begin his preparations for just his second MD in major. He would eventually reach the quarter-final of the Grand Slam tournament. While in Melbourne, Australia, Ben Shelton had his sights set on some of the city’s most famous landmarks.
He’s currently holding off on his tourist trips until after the tournament has concluded. According to the BBC Sport, Shelton said that it’s important to take in the sights while travelling. He currently sits at 89th in the world. A year ago, he was outside the top 500. Over the course of the past weeks, Shelton had managed to win four matches at Melbourne Park. Ben Shelton will face world number 35 and fellow American Tommy Paul.
Shelton remarked that moving to another country for the first time felt strange, however after a couple of days, he felt like he had settled into his new surroundings. He added that it had been a difficult adjustment period, but he is now feeling good. It felt great to finally get to use this opportunity. Being able to travel to two new countries has been a great experience, and I’m excited to see what the world has to offer in the coming months. Shelton’s only previous experience at a major tournament was a first round loss at the US Open last year. He was able to earn a wild card by winning the NCAA’s championship.
In August, Shelton shocked the world number five player from Norway, Casper Ruud, during the Cincinnati Open. He then announced his professional status before the commencement of last year’s US OPEN. When asked about his surprise at how far he had come, Shelton said that he didn’t expect to be where he was at. He attributed his success to the hard work that he had been putting in. He also said that he had learned a lot about becoming a full-time professional tennis player.
Despite his success on the court, Shelton said that he was still committed to his studies. Although he had always been interested in sports, it didn’t appear that he would be a professional tennis player. He started playing with his dad when he was 10 years old. He was also very good at various other sports. Shelton grew up playing various types of sports, such as baseball, basketball, soccer, and football. When he was twelve years old, he decided that he wanted to focus on one sport instead of multiple sports. He had initially vowed to never play tennis because it was his dad’s passion, but he is now happy with where he is at.