The second week of the 2025 Australian Open tennis tournament kicked off, with the men's and women's singles deciding the quarter-finals. Men's Singles No. 21 seed and rising American star Sheldon defeated French veteran Monfils in the fourth round to return to the quarterfinals of the Australian Open after two years.

Shelton is back in the quarterfinals of the Australian Open

Photo: Visual China

At the 2023 Australian Open, the 20-year-old Shelton, as a "first-year freshman" on the tour, eliminated Zhang Zhizhen, Jarry and Poplin on the way to promotion, and reached the men's singles quarterfinals in the second Grand Slam main draw of his career. Melbourne Park's "American youth storm" has caused the tennis world to take a fresh look at the left-hander from a tennis family, Shelton's father is a former professional tennis player who retired as head coach of the Georgia Tech women's tennis team and the University of Florida men's tennis team, and his mother and sister played in both youth and school days.

At the U.S. Open, players such as Sheldon Link, Tim, Paul and Tiafoe became the youngest local player to reach the semifinals of the U.S. Open since Zhang Depei in 1992. In addition, Shelton reached the quarterfinals of the Shanghai Rolex Masters and won his first career singles title at ATP Tokyo, where he was awarded the ATP Rookie of the Year award for his year-end performance in the top 20 of the year-end world rankings.

Beginning regular training at the age of 12, winning the USTA Junior National Championship doubles title at the age of 14, helping the University of Florida tennis team win the NCAA team championship at the age of 18, and winning the NCAA singles title at the age of 19, Sheldon showed great tennis talent as a teenager. As one of the best of his peers, Sheldon beat then-No. 5 Ruud in his first professional journey to the Masters to reach the round of 16. In April 2024, Sheldon surpassed Fritz to become the youngest "American Big Brother" in two decades (Roddick in 2004).

Sheldon in the game

Photo: Visual China

In the first four rounds of this year's Australian Open, Shelton made a total of 42 aces, with a first-serve and second-serve scoring rate of 80% and 60% respectively, all of which ranked in the top 10 of all men's players. A strong performance on serve allowed Sheldon to hold serve easily in the match and set him up for the win of the match.

With another semi-final attack on the horizon, Sheldon's mentality has changed a lot from two years ago. "I have a sense of urgency to get here, and the players who can make it to the quarterfinals are in near-best form, and there is a new matchup in front of me. For me, it's about having a plan of play, you can't just go on the pitch and just play and watch your luck, like I did here two years ago [in my first quarter-final with Paul] and I wasn't in good shape, but I definitely gave it my all. ”

"In the second week of the tournament, believe that you are fit enough to play a full five sets or resist a long round of shots, and believe that you have the ability to persevere. It's my physical and mental maturity to be able to trust myself at a critical moment. Obviously, it's also difficult against the best players in the world, but I think that's the most important thing. ”

Sheldon

Photo: Visual China

As a leader of the new generation of American players, Sheldon's strong left-handed serve and forehand are important weapons, and his solid baseline and flexible front of the net have helped him become the "Hotshot Prince" of the new generation of men's tennis. There is no doubt that the YONEX EZONE 98 racquet has played an integral role in Shelton's tennis career, and the chemistry that began as a teenager helped Sheldon to make a splash and establish himself quickly after turning professional. In the new season, Sheldon with the new 8th generation EZONE 98 racket is even more unstoppable, and will be on his way to higher rankings and titles!

Tomorrow, Shelton will play in the men's singles quarter-finals at Rod Laver Stadium, where he will face Italy's Sonego, who knocked out former champion Wawrinka and Fonseca and Lerner Chan in quick succession. After two years of growth and accumulation, Shelton will strive to reach the semi-finals of men's singles for the first time and break his best record at the Australian Open.

(Text and editor: Dato)