Ben Shelton‘s “lucky charm” keeps working.
Shelton said his sister, Emma, was his “lucky charm” after defeating Marton Fucsovics in the third round at Wimbledon on Saturday. He then requested that Morgan Stanley, her employer, give her more personal time off, as she was scheduled to return to work on Monday.
The company granted Ben Shelton’s request, giving her the week off. Now, Emma Shelton will get to catch at least one more match this week after her brother beat Lorenzo Sonego 3-6, 6-1, 7-6 (1), 7-5 in the Round of 16 at Wimbledon on Monday.
In the match, Ben Shelton hit 47 winners and won 56-of-76 first-serve points. He credited his family and girlfriend, U.S. soccer star Trinity Rodman, for his fantastic performance.
“I’ve got a lot of people I love over there,” he said as he turned his head toward them in his post-match interview.
Ben Shelton, 22, is the youngest American to reach the Wimbledon quarterfinals since Andy Roddick did so at 21 in 2004, via the X account of ESPN’s “SportsCenter.”
Ben Shelton reached the semifinals at the 2023 U.S. Open and the 2025 Australian Open but hasn’t won a Grand Slam.
He will face Jannik Sinner, the No. 1 player in the world, in his next match on Wednesday. While that presents a challenge, Monday’s victory gave him plenty of confidence.
“I’m happy with the way that I played the last game. I feel like that was my best tennis, my best returning, and that’s what I’m going to continue to need to do in this tournament,” Ben Shelton said. “So, for me to end the match with that sort of game gives me a lot of confidence going forward.”
Ben Shelton has a decent chance of winning the grass-court tournament. As of Monday, he has the fifth-best odds (+2400) of doing so, per FanDuel Sportsbook. With his “lucky charm” backing him, perhaps something unexpected will happen in his match against Sinner.
