MELBOURNE : American eighth seed Ben Shelton seized centre stage at the Australian Open on Monday, advancing to the quarter-finals with a 3-6 6-4 6-3 6-4 victory over Casper Ruud after Novak Djokovic’s late withdrawal reshaped the night session.
Ten-time champion Djokovic had been scheduled for the prime-time slot at Rod Laver Arena but progressed by walkover to the quarter-finals when his fourth-round opponent Jakub Mensik pulled out injured.
That left Shelton to headline the evening, and the American overcame a slow start to defeat 12th-seeded Norwegian Ruud in front of an appreciative crowd.
Fans missing Djokovic could be heard chanting “Go Novak!” during the match, but Shelton took it in stride.
“For me, atmosphere is everything,” Shelton said on court. “I know you guys were probably looking forward to Novak tonight … but I hope we didn’t disappoint you with this match.”
Shelton struck 14 aces and unleashed a serve measured at 228 km/h as he closed out the contest to reach his third Australian Open quarter-final.
He will next face two-time defending champion Jannik Sinner for a place in the semi-finals. Shelton has lost his last eight meetings with the Italian, including their clash in last year’s semi-finals at Melbourne Park.
