Ben Shelton has set up a third round meeting at the Australian Open with Valentin Vacherot.
Shelton is currently the American number one, having moved ahead of Taylor Fritz at the start of the 2026 season.
After reaching the semifinals in Melbourne last year, Shelton is also seen as a contender for the Australian Open title.
Following his straight sets victory over Australian qualifier Dane Sweeny, Shelton will now take on Shanghai Masters champion Valentin Vacherot.
Ben Shelton explains what Valentin Vacherot’s climb up the rankings has shown
Vacherot shocked the tennis world in Shanghai last year, with the then world number 204 coming all the way through qualifying to beat the likes of Novak Djokovic, Holger Rune and his cousin Arthur Rinderknech to win the Masters 1000 title.
As a result, the Monegasque has made huge strides up the rankings and is actually seeded for the Australian Open this year, despite it being his first main draw appearance at the tournament.
Having won his first two rounds at the Australian Open in comfortable fashion, Vacherot has now set up a third round clash with the aforementioned Shelton.
Shelton previously encountered Vacherot on both the college circuit and the ATP Challenger Tour, and was asked if he has been surprised by the Shanghai Masters champion’s climb up the rankings.
The American responded by claiming that Vacherot has ‘always been a problem’ and said that he has not been surprised by his rise up the rankings.
“Yeah, I think it just shows that, you know, the game of tennis is very mental, and the level difference between guys who are playing challengers to the top of the world, it’s not massive,” Shelton said in his post-match press conference.
“I played him in one of the early challengers I played, and we had an absolute war. I think I beat him 5 or 6 in the third. Even since he was in college, he’s always been a problem.
“I’m not shocked to see him, you know, in the top 100 and having great results on the tour. I think that he has a lot of weapons. I think he’s great physically. I think he’s a tough competitor. Yeah, I think it’s a great third-round matchup.
“So I’m looking forward to it. Obviously the first time that we’re playing on the main tour and a college matchup, SEC [Southeastern Conference] matchup. Yeah, I’m really looking forward to it.”
Shelton and Vacherot’s only official previous meeting came at the Las Vegas Challenger tournament in 2022, where the former won in three close-fought sets.
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Ben Shelton says if he has learned anything from his major defeats to Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner
One of the big tasks for players on the ATP Tour over the past year including Shelton has been trying to stop Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner.
Alcaraz and Sinner have won eight consecutive Grand Slam titles, and Shelton suffered three of his four Grand Slam defeats in 2025 to either one of the top two players.
When asked about the sudden jump in level of opposition at Grand Slams from other players to Alcaraz and Sinner, Shelton suggested that it generally does not matter who you are playing in the latter stages of a major, but admitted that they are a different proposition.
“Yeah, I think it depends, you know. Here I’ve always had tough first-round matchups,” said Shelton. “Like, I’ve played [Brandon] Nakashima in the first round last year. I played [Ugo] Humbert in the first round this year, and it’s guys who not only are very good but are very dangerous on a live hard court.
“Obviously as you go through the tournament, the matches are going to get tougher, because the guys are more and more in form, but I also feel that, like, when you get to the quarterfinals, it doesn’t matter, or even the fourth round, quarterfinals, semifinals, it doesn’t matter really who you are playing or what their ranking says, because you get to a quarterfinals of a slam, that means you’ve definitely beat some people and you’re feeling pretty confident in your game.
“I think that you run into guys that are playing at a very high level, playing some of their best tennis when you get there, and certainly every matchup is different. You know, going from a quarters playing somebody to Sinner in a semis, that’s a different, you know, problem to deal with, but I think that that’s kind of just the normal being out on tour. You have so many different matchups, and you have to bring something different to every match.
“Yeah, obviously, it’s a little bit different feel when you are playing the two-time defending champ or number one player in the world.”
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Shelton has won only one of his 12 previous meetings against Alcaraz and Sinner, and he has lost his last 10 in a row.
Before he can even think about his potential quarterfinal with Sinner, Shelton will have his focus on playing Vacherot, with their third round match taking place on Saturday, January 24.
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