Ben Shelton cruises through Round 1 of Wimbledon
Shelton played off his power serve, which is even faster than normal on the grass surface. He had an average serve speed of 190 km/h (118 mph) and a fastest serve speed of 236 km/h (147 mph), good for a share of the third-fastest serve of the tournament through two days. Shelton served up 15 aces to Bolt's seven and only double-faulted six times. He won 78% of his first serves and saved one of just two break points faced.
Ben Shelton's Round 2 Matchup at Wimbledon
Moving through the first round with relative ease is what's expected of a top-10 talent in the world, and Shelton looks fairly sharp despite having to play two tiebreakers against Bolt. Next up is another Australian, World No. 87 Rinky Hijikata, on the No. 2 Court.
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While there is no specified time for the match, it is the final of five matches on that court on Thursday, the second of which is already in progress and through two sets. The third match is scheduled not before 1:30 p.m. ET, which puts Shelton playing around 6-8 p.m., barring any delays.
The only meeting between the two at an ATP event was a 6-4, 6-0 win by Shelton last year in Mallorca on grass. They also played twice in 2022 at a pair of Challenger Tour events. Hijikata won the first-ever encounter in Orlando, 6-3, 7-6(8), on the outdoor hard court, and Shelton won 6-3, 6-4 in Indianapolis on an indoor hard court.
An AI assistant powered by IBM on the Wimbledon official page gives Shelton 69% odds to beat Hijikata. Nice.
Shelton's road to a Grand Slam title
After making it to the semifinals of the Australian Open and Round 4 of the French Open, Shelton has proven that he's at his best while playing Grand Slam events. He keeps running into one of two buzz saws in World No. 1 Jannik Sinner and World No. 2 Carlos Alcaraz, but that's the final hurdle to clear before reaching the mountaintop.
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If Shelton is going to become the next truly great American, and not just another top-10, top-25 name that can't finish off big wins, he's going to have to learn to beat either giant of the sports. Neither is a potential opponent for Shelton until the quarterfinals, assuming Sinner makes it there.
Looking ahead to Round 3, Shelton would face either World No. 48 Gael Monfils or No. 105 Marton Fucsovics should he beat Hijikata.
Shelton's history at Wimbledon
Despite debuting on the ATP circuit in 2021, it took a couple of years for Shelton to work himself up to competing in every major. He played the only domestic Grand Slam on the circuit, the US Open, in 2021 and 2022, but 2023 was his first year playing all four majors. He made an early exit in the Round of 64, losing to Laslo Djere in four sets, after winning a five-set battle against Taro Daniel in the first round.
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Shelton made it to the Round of 16 in 2024, winning three five-set matches along the way. He took down Mattia Bellucci first, then Lloyd Harris and finally Denis Shapovalov. He ran into a buzzsaw in the fourth round, losing to World No. 1 Jannik Sinner in straight sets.
Performing well at Grand Slam events is a major reason Shelton has climbed the ATP rankings this year. He made his second career Grand Slam semifinal in January at the Australian Open, losing in straight sets to Sinner once again, and made a career-best Round of 16 appearance at Roland Garros last month. World No. 2 Carlos Alcaraz needed four sets to defeat the American.
Shelton is nearing the point of only losing to top-10 talent on the biggest of stages. It's always brought out the best in him, and grass might be the most complementary surface to his left-handed power serve.
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This article originally appeared on Gators Wire: Ben Shelton defeats Alex Bolt in straight sets at Wimbledon Round 1
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