As a statement of intent, Ben Shelton\u2019s opening service game on Saturday was quite something. His first serve thundered through at 145mph; on the third point, he upped it to 146mph and on the fifth, he bashed one down at 147mph. If Marton Fucsovics had picked up his rackets there and then and left the court, people would surely have understood.<\/p>\n
As it was, the Hungarian, ranked 105 having dropped from a high of No 31 in 2019, battled hard to compete but Shelton was a man on a mission, his 6-3, 7-6 (4), 6-2 victory putting him through to the last 16, equalling his previous Wimbledon<\/a> best.<\/p>\n A hammer of a forehand gave Shelton the first break for 3-1 in the opener and when Fucsovics had the temerity to force a break-back point in the next game, he slammed down a serve at 148mph. That would have equalled the fastest-ever serve at Wimbledon had Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard not raised it to 153mph earlier this week.<\/p>\n \u201cI had a lot of fun,\u201d Shelton said. \u201cIt\u2019s always special playing at Wimbledon. This is my third time playing on Court No 1. Hopefully I get a few more matches on one of these two big courts. I\u2019m trying to make my way to Centre Court. Maybe I\u2019ll get there one day.\u201d<\/p>\n If he keeps playing this well, that\u2019s an inevitability. Though the second set was tight all the way through, Shelton pulled away to take the tie-break 7-4 and an early break in the third set him on his way. As his powerful all-court game flowed, he raced to a 5-1 lead and though Fucsovics got one break back, the left-hander broke again to clinch a convincing victory that sets up a clash with Lorenzo Sonego of Italy.<\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019s a great player,\u201d Shelton said of the Italian. \u201cI played him tight in Australia this year, I played him tight in Roland Garros so it\u2019s only fitting we do it in Wimbledon. Grass is a good surface for him, it\u2019ll be difficult, but I like my chances right now, the way I\u2019m playing, the way the crowd is helping with my energy.\u201d<\/p>\n Sonego will need to find some energy somewhere after he edged out Brandon Nakashima 6-7 (5), 7-6 (8), 7-6 (2), 3-6, 7-6 (3) in five hours and four minutes, the longest match of the tournament this year. The Italian won 45 of his 76 points at the net as he matched his previous best performance here.<\/p>\n Alex de Minaur will get a shot at Novak Djokovic this year after being forced to withdraw before their scheduled match at Wimbledon last season. Photograph: Adrian Dennis\/AFP\/Getty Images<\/p>\n This time last year, Alex de Minaur was due to face Novak Djokovic in the quarter-finals only to withdraw before the match because of a hip injury that disrupted the rest of his year. On Saturday, the Australian ensured he will get another crack at the seven-time champion as he ended the run of the unheralded Dane August Holmgren 6-4, 7-6 (5), 6-3.<\/p>\n skip past newsletter promotion<\/a><\/p>\n The best of our sports journalism from the past seven days and a heads-up on the weekend\u2019s action<\/p>\n Privacy Notice: <\/strong>Newsletters may contain info about charities, online ads, and content funded by outside parties. For more information see our Privacy Policy<\/a>. We use Google reCaptcha to protect our website and the Google Privacy Policy<\/a> and Terms of Service<\/a> apply.<\/p>\n after newsletter promotion<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s funny how life works,\u201d De Minaur said. \u201cHere we are a year later, and I\u2019m going to get that match-up. It is a round earlier. It was a brutal time for me last year having to deal with all of those emotions. But here we are a year later feeling good, ready to go, and I\u2019m going to get my chance again. So I\u2019m excited for that.\u201d<\/p>\n Bulgaria\u2019s Grigor Dimitrov captured his 100th grand slam singles win, beating Sebastian Ofner of Austria 6-3, 6-4, 7-6 (0) to reach the fourth round for the third year in a row, a performance that earned him a shot at Jannik Sinner<\/a>, the top seed.<\/p>\n