Ben Shelton has made it to the Wimbledon quarter-finals, following his victory over Lorenzo Sonego in the fourth round.
Shelton defeated Sonego 3-6, 6-1, 7-6, 7-5 to reach the last eight at a Grand Slam for the fourth time in his career, and second this season.
He is now the youngest American to reach the men’s quarter-finals at Wimbledon since Andy Roddick in 2004.
The world number 10 will face Jannik Sinner in the next round, who advanced after Grigor Dimitrov retired from the fourth-round match with the Italian due to injury, despite being two sets up.
Sinner himself looked to be struggling with an injury against Dimitrov, which former WTA number one Tracy Austin discussed ahead of his clash with Shelton.
Photo by Julian Finney/Getty ImagesTracy Austin says if Jannik Sinner will be fit to play Ben Shelton
Speaking on BBC, Austin said of Shelton: “He played so well. I went over to watch his match before Iga’s. That guy is so physical.
“When you are so close to the court, I was 20 feet away from him, the intensity level from Shelton! He talks to himself, talks to his box, constantly spurring himself on.
“But his footwork, his intensity, his physicality is phenomenal and only going to get better.
“They asked him with Sinner down a set, you could hear ‘oh really’!”
On Sinner’s injury, she said: “Jannik is young, I don’t know how bad it is, or if it’s just from that fall.
“He has the day off and in a major you always know you have the day off. That is going to be very helpful for someone who is so young and so fit. I am hoping he will be fine by the next time he has to play.”
Photo by ADRIAN DENNIS/AFP via Getty ImagesJannik Sinner’s head-to-head record with Ben Shelton
Sinner and Shelton have played each other six times on the ATP Tour, with their first clash coming in 2023 at the Shanghai Masters, which the US star won.
That victory was his last in the rivalry, however, as the world number one has emerged victorious in their next five bouts.
They have played twice at Grand Slam events, the first of which was at Wimbledon last year in the fourth round, where Sinner defeated Shelton in straight sets.
At the Australian Open this season, they had their second meeting at a major, but it once again went the way of the eventual champion in Melbourne.
Now, the two stars will face off for the second time on grass; this time for a place in the Wimbledon semi-finals.