Ben Shelton wins third consecutive 5-setter
matches father's feat at Wimbledon
Smacking serves at up to 140 mph (225 kph), tied for the fastest by anyone in the tournament so far, he pulled out his third consecutive five-setter.
LONDON: When Ben Shelton was growing up, he didn’t necessarily want to hear a lot about his father’s professional tennis career. And, actually, Dad didn’t necessarily want to chat much about it.
Ben, though, knows what Bryan did all of those decades ago — and now they share something in common: a trip to the fourth round at Wimbledon.
The younger Shelton made it that far at the All England Club for the first time in only his second appearance, getting past another big-serving left-hander who has been a Grand Slam semifinalist, Denis Shapovalov, by a score of 6-7 (4), 6-2, 6-4, 4-6, 6-2 on Saturday. The elder Shelton was among the last 16 men in the Wimbledon bracket in 1994.
Ben’s tennis coach at the University of Florida was Bryan, who left that job a little more than a year ago to work with his kid. So Bryan was sitting in the stands at No. 1 Court, offering tips and encouragement.
When the match ended, Ben shouted over, “We’re back, Big Dog!”
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