Ben Shelton is a man on a mission at the 2026 Australian Open, with the American having not dropped a set in his first three matches.
Shelton has earned flawless victories over Ugo Humbert, home hope Dane Sweeny, and Valentin Vacherot.
The eighth seed defeated Vacherot 6-4, 6-4, 7-6 to book his place in the fourth round at Melbourne Park for the second consecutive season.
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Last year, Shelton made the semifinals of the Australian Open before suffering defeat to eventual champion Jannik Sinner.
He will look to go one step further this time around, and he may just have a great chance to do so with the improvements tennis legend Jim Courier noticed he has made to his game.
Jim Courier analyses Ben Shelton’s game at the Australian Open
Speaking on TNT, Courier said: “I think his forehand he is getting more through the ball. He is putting more velocity on the forehand and making that more of a weapon.
“His return of serve has a little bit of way to go. He is still raw in a couple of areas of his game. But his potency with the serve and the forehand is going to become a problem in fast conditions.”
Former world number one Mats Wilander added: “I think he brings a different intensity completely [to Grand Slams].
“I think he likes three out of five sets, it brings him a little more time to find his serve and do certain things. But I think it’s about his intensity level which he has to bring up on the regular tour.
“You can’t go on the regular tour and lose to a bunch of guys and then think you can beat them in the majors. But I think he has improved here since I saw him last.”
Ben Shelton’s Grand Slam results last season
After Shelton’s semifinal finish Down Under last year, he went on to reach the fourth round at Roland Garros.
There, on his least preferred surface, he exited the tournament after losing to Carlos Alcaraz in four sets.
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Shelton enjoyed the best Wimbledon run of his career in 2025 by making it to the quarterfinals, where he lost to Sinner once again.
At the US Open, Shelton advanced to the third round but was forced to retire in his match with Adrian Mannarino.
In his career so far, Shelton has made the semifinals of two Grand Slams, which he managed at the 2023 US Open, and the 2025 Australian Open.
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