Pacing himself emotionally, Ben Shelton pounces in fifth set to edge past J.J. Wolf

Two former NCAA players faced off for the right to reach the Australian Open quarterfinals on Monday. It brought two powerhouse programs together – Florida versus Ohio State—but on paper, it was two unseeded Americans battling for the right to extend respective breakout major runs.

When all was said and done, Gainesville, Fla. resident Ben Shelton—on his first trip outside of the country—edged past Cincinnati native J.J. Wolf, 6-7 (5), 6-2, 6-7 (4), 7-6 (4), 6-2, to become the second U.S. man to reach the last eight following Sebastian Korda’s decisive tiebreak win over Hubert Hurkacz a day earlier. Tommy Paul later became the third when he fought off Roberto Bautista Agut in four sets to confirm a Wednesday date with Shelton.

Playing on John Cain Arena, where Shelton previously handled the partisan Australian crowd in his third-round win over Alexei Popyrin, the trio of tiebreakers had a lot to say for this joining the plethora of men’s matches to go the distance over the fortnight thus far.

“There was a lot of swings throughout the match,” Shelton said in his on-court interview.

“I really focused on the fifth set, being energetic, trusting my fitness, just hustling, being courageous. I thought I did a really good job of competing at the highest level in the fifth set.”

In the opening set, both players won 40 points—Wolf happened to win the most important ones. Shelton demonstrated his willingness to play with variety, executing a backhand lob winner midway through the breaker, but it also cost him. After Wolf muscled his way to 5-4 with beautiful forehand striking, Shelton came forward off a chip slice, and with an open ad court, flubbed a backhand volley well long. Two points later, an attempt to finish an exchange with a forehand up the line sailed long.

Unfortunately for Shelton, a dip in execution returned in the third-set breaker. Though he began with a mini break thanks to working the court with his forehand, a string of misses over time added up to dropping the set.

Serving at 2-1, Shelton overcompensated on his serve +1 forehand line. Returning at 3-2, he hooked a crosscourt forehand just wide early in the rally. Serving at 3-4, a lack of footwork off Wolf’s return resulted in driving his backhand into the net. Wolf, who made zero unforced errors over the 11-point stretch, was superb coming forward in regaining the match lead.

The battle remained competitive in the fourth set, with both players in the green with winners to unforced errors. Both continued to hit spots on serve when under pressure: Wolf saved two break points at 1-1, 15-40; Shelton erased one of his own at 2-3, ad-out. It only seemed fitting that a tiebreak would once again decide matters.

And this time, Shelton flipped the switch. Big hitting propelled him to a 4-2 lead. As he continued to attack, Wolf broke down with a pair of tight misses to dig himself in a hole that proved insurmountable. Shelton closed on his third set point with a body serve the opposition couldn’t handle.

“I think that fourth-set tiebreaker was really key for me. I made some impulsive decisions, rushing to the net a couple times, a couple unforced errors,” Wolf reflected in his press conference.

Shelton finally got his nose in front with an early break when Wolf’s forehand drive volley clipped the tape and landed out. Playing his first career five-setter, Wolf began to break down physically. The trainer rubbed down his right quad at 1-4 and Wolf resorted to minimizing rally lengths. Shelton focused energy on his side of the net, ensuring a deuce game at 4-2 didn’t slip away by letting his forehand inflict blows past a struggling Wolf. A game later, the hard-fought victory was all his after three hours and 47 minutes. A loud eruption of emotions followed.

“Yeeeeeeeeeah! Come onnnnn! Come on! Let's gooooooo!”

Said Shelton, “I knew I couldn't come out here and be amped up for all four hours, or I wouldn't make it. I kind of paced myself emotionally. I was able to bring out some of my best tennis at the end of the match.”

In the quality duel, Shelton, who held in every service game, finished with 64 winners—including 23 aces—and 41 unforced errors. Wolf ended with a 60 (19 aces) to 54 ratio.

“Daniel (Pohl), thanks for getting me in shape, man. Six months ago, I wouldn't have made it through this match," Shelton shared in complimenting his team.

The lefty now also owns bragging rights over father Bryan, for the elder Shelton's best Grand Slam showing was a round-of-16 run at Wimbledon. It's worth reminding the younger Shelton only turned professional last August just ahead of the US Open after a two-year stint at the University of Florida under the watchful eye of his dad, and is contesting just his second major main draw.

After the 2022 Australian Open, Shelton was ranked No. 570. The 20-year-old will break the Top 50 (surpassing Bryan's benchmark of No. 55), with potential to crack further ceilings by extending his stay in Melbourne, come next Monday. What a difference a year makes.