Ben Shelton, a former UF standout, hits a forehand during his match against Brandon Nakashima, of the United States, in the first round of the men's singles at the 2025 Australian Open at Melbourne Park. [Mike Frey-Imagn Images]

Shelton Advances To Second Round Of Australian Open

Hannah Getman January 14, 2025 Former Gators, Gators Sports, Tennis 124 Views

Former Florida standout Ben Shelton defeated fellow American Brandon Nakashima in the first round of the Australian Open in straight sets Tuesday.

Shelton, the No. 21 seed, advances to round two of the tournament in Melbourne against Spaniard Pablo Carreno Busta.

How It Happened

Despite winning in three sets, Shelton did not have an easy opponent in Nakashima. This match marked the third meeting between the two players, with Shelton having won their two previous encounters. This did not stop Nakashima, who jumped out to an early three-point lead in the first set. After the first seven points, Nakashima still held a 5-2 lead. But Shelton battled back, saving five set points to win the first set 7-6(3).

The second set brought another back-and-forth battle, with Shelton scoring first and Nakashima matching him point for point. With both men tied at five points apiece, Shelton pulled away, winning the next two points to secure the set.

The third set mirrored the one before, with the players alternating points. Again tied at five points each, Shelton took games 11 and 12 to secure the final set and punch his ticket to round two.

Who’s Next

In the Round of 64, Shelton faces Carreno Busta, who took down Kamil Majchrzak from Poland in straight sets Tuesday, following Shelton’s match. The win marked Carreno Busta’s first grand slam win in two years after he has slowly battled back from an elbow injury.

Carreno Busta is ranked 182 in the world with 277 career wins. His highest rank of his career was 10th in 2017. Shelton sits at 20 in the rankings.

Other Key Results

Round one also brought some other exciting results across the open. Brazilian 18-year-old qualifier Joao Fonseca took down ninth-seeded Russian Andrey Rublev. Fonseca is just the second teenager since 1973 to beat a top-10 player in their debut Grand Slam main draw. He moves on to face Italian Lorenzo Sonego in the next round.

Despite some nail-biting matches, Fonseca remained the only underdog to pull off an upset in round one. Novak Djokovic, the No. 7 seed, won in four sets against American Nishesh Basavareddy despite dropping the first set.

Fourth seed Taylor Fritz, the highest ranked American male in the open, also took down a fellow American in his match, easily defeating Jenson Brooksby in straight sets. Tommy Paul, another top-ranked American, narrowly won his first-round match against Australian Christopher O’Connell in five sets. Paul is set to face Kei Nishikori in round two, while Fritz will take on Cristian Garin.

Shelton’s Schedule

Shelton’s second-match Wednesday is at 7 p.m. ET on ESPN+.

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About Hannah Getman

Hannah Getman is a second-year sports and media major at the University of Florida.

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