Ben Shelton keeps "moving in the right direction" by knocking out Casper Ruud in Cincinnati

FLASHBACK: When Shelton won his ATP debut in Atlanta

There was a theme to Wednesday’s order of play at the Western & Southern Open: the American flag. It was all over the place. The day began with 12 U.S. players in the singles draws. Not all of them were successful—Tommy Paul gave up an early lead to Denis Shapovalov, and Caty McNally lost after having three match points against Ons Jabeur. But the sheer number of Americans in a Masters 1000 draw was impressive. There’s a lot to choose from if you’re a tennis fan from the States right now.

Most impressive of all, though, was a U.S. player that even a full-time observer of the sport may not have been aware of before today: Ben Shelton. He’s the 19-year-old son of former Top 60 pro Bryan Shelton, and earlier this year he won the NCAA singles title as a sophomore at the University of Florida, where his father coaches the men’s team. After that, Shelton found immediate success at the Challenger level, reaching the semis or better at four events.

Last month, he won his first tour-level match in the city where he was born, Atlanta. On Tuesday, he beat 56th-ranked Lorenzo Sonego. And on Wednesday, he belted his way past world No. 5 and Roland Garros runner-up Casper Ruud 6-3, 6-3. In four months, Shelton has moved from No. 547 to inside the Top 200.

“It’s awesome,” Shelton said, as any college sophomore living his dream might. “It’s cool that I made Top 200. It was definitely a check mark for me. I’m glad I’m moving in the right direction.”

If those words exude a laid-back self-confidence, the same can be said for the way Shelton carries himself on court. He says his tennis hero is Roger Federer, but there’s something Rafa-esque about the way Shelton, a lefty, looks, smiles, plays—and rips through his topspin forehand. Against Ruud, he jumped out to an early lead in each set, and never gave it back. He hit one serve so hard, it looked like it might have gone right through Ruud’s racquet. He hit another inside-out forehand that was past Ruud before he could flinch. He took some of Ruud’s hardest first serves and reflexed them back for winners. In the final game, he even threw in a tweener lob for yet another winner. After that shot, Ruud could only stop and stare across the net for a few seconds: “Who is this guy?” he seemed to be asking.

“He’s an incredible talent,” John Isner said after edging Shelton in a third-set tiebreaker in Atlanta. “I watched him play a year and a half ago in college and saw how athletic and talented he is. I’m going to be a big fan of his in the future.

“Truthfully, I don’t see myself beating him any time in the future. I hope I don’t have to play him again.”

Shelton says his relationship with his father, and Bryan’s knowledge about what it takes to make it on the tour, has been invaluable.

“It’s become a really good situation where he doesn’t even have to tell me things and I know what he’s thinking or he knows what I’m thinking,” Ben said of his dad. “He’s really helped me work on developing my game and not worry about quick success, but being in it for the long run.”

Shelton, who plays fellow lefty Cam Norrie on Thursday, may be in it for the long run, but his rise is proceeding at a meteoric pace. He’s one of many Americans to watch at the moment; in the future, we’re likely to be watching a lot more of him.