Summer Recap: Shelton Sweeps Singles, Doubles Titles at the M25 Champaign Tournament
Monday, August 16, 2021 | Men's Tennis
GAINESVILLE, Fla. - Ben Shelton swept the competition at the M25 Champaign tournament in late July after winning both the singles and doubles titles without ever dropping a set. A few weeks later, he almost swept the competition for the second time at the USTA Boys 18 and 16 National Championships in Kalamazoo, Mich., after winning the doubles title and advancing to the singles finals.
At the M25 Champaign tournament, Shelton made his way through singles competition starting with a victory over Yunseong Chung, 7-5, 6-0, in the first round. He went on to defeat Christian Langmo, 6-4, 6-4, in round two, then overtook the 2019 NCAA singles champion, Paul Jubb, in dominating fashion with a pair of 6-1 and 6-2 scores. In the semifinals, Shelton pulled out a victory over Yu Hsiou Hsu, 6-4, 6-1, then claimed the singles title with a 7-6 (4), 6-3, victory over Gijs Brouwer.
At the same tournament, Shelton and Texas' Eliot Spizzirri paired up to win the doubles title after four commanding victories. Their first-round win came over Hunter Heck and Lucas Horve, 6-4, 6-3, before pulling out a quarterfinals victory over Yusuke Takahashi and Jumpei Yamasaki, 6-1, 6-2. In their semifinal's appearance, the duo took on Nicholas Bybel and Kiranpal Pannu, winning 6-2, 6-4, to move on to the finals. The Shelton/Spizzirri pairing then beat Yunseong Chung and Rio Noguchi, 6-4, 6-0, to claim the doubles title.
Most recently, Shelton earned a qualifying wild card bid in the U.S. Open Tennis Championships after making it to the finals at the USTA Boys 18 and 16 National Championships. He had a bye in the round of 256, then defeated John Kim, 6-4, 6-1, in the round of 128. The following round, Shelton pulled off a double bagel against Mert Oral with scores of 6-0, 6-0, to advance to the next one. He took on Ritesh Patil in the round of 32 where he won 6-2, 6-2, and then moved on to the round of 16 to defeat Nicolas Kotzen by the same scores.
Shelton and No. 7-seed Dali Blanch put together a hard-fought quarterfinals match, as Shelton earned the victory by scores of 6-4, 5-7, 6-3. He moved on to the finals with a win over Alexander Bernard, 6-2, 6-3, and in doing so, earned an automatic bid into the U.S. Open Tennis Championships qualifying draw. Shelton would finish in the runner-up spot at the USTA Boys Nationals after falling to No. 1-seed, Zachary Svajda, who also won the tournament back in 2019.
Shelton paired with Bruno Kuzuhara for doubles competition as they earned a No. 1-seed and first-round bye at the Zoo Nationals tournament. They cruised through the competition, posting a 12-1 set record over six matches and ultimately defeating the No. 2-seed pairing of Ethan Quinn and Sebastian Gorzny, 6-4, 6-4, to win the doubles title.
At the Cary Challenger 80, Shelton competed with Aleksander Kovacevic in doubles, where the duo made it to the semifinals before losing to pair Petros Chrysochos and Michail Pervolarakis. Shelton also tallied a singles victory in the first round over Pervolarakis, 6-3, 6-2.
In late June, Shelton participated in the M15 Weston tournament where he won three singles matches. His first two wins came in the qualifying draw against Mwendwa Mbithi, 6-4, 7-6 (3), and Ronald Hohmann 6-3, 6-2. Then, he secured a first-round victory in the main draw over Khololwam Montsi, 4-6, 6-2, 3-1 (retired).
At the M25 Champaign tournament, Shelton made his way through singles competition starting with a victory over Yunseong Chung, 7-5, 6-0, in the first round. He went on to defeat Christian Langmo, 6-4, 6-4, in round two, then overtook the 2019 NCAA singles champion, Paul Jubb, in dominating fashion with a pair of 6-1 and 6-2 scores. In the semifinals, Shelton pulled out a victory over Yu Hsiou Hsu, 6-4, 6-1, then claimed the singles title with a 7-6 (4), 6-3, victory over Gijs Brouwer.
At the same tournament, Shelton and Texas' Eliot Spizzirri paired up to win the doubles title after four commanding victories. Their first-round win came over Hunter Heck and Lucas Horve, 6-4, 6-3, before pulling out a quarterfinals victory over Yusuke Takahashi and Jumpei Yamasaki, 6-1, 6-2. In their semifinal's appearance, the duo took on Nicholas Bybel and Kiranpal Pannu, winning 6-2, 6-4, to move on to the finals. The Shelton/Spizzirri pairing then beat Yunseong Chung and Rio Noguchi, 6-4, 6-0, to claim the doubles title.
Most recently, Shelton earned a qualifying wild card bid in the U.S. Open Tennis Championships after making it to the finals at the USTA Boys 18 and 16 National Championships. He had a bye in the round of 256, then defeated John Kim, 6-4, 6-1, in the round of 128. The following round, Shelton pulled off a double bagel against Mert Oral with scores of 6-0, 6-0, to advance to the next one. He took on Ritesh Patil in the round of 32 where he won 6-2, 6-2, and then moved on to the round of 16 to defeat Nicolas Kotzen by the same scores.
Shelton and No. 7-seed Dali Blanch put together a hard-fought quarterfinals match, as Shelton earned the victory by scores of 6-4, 5-7, 6-3. He moved on to the finals with a win over Alexander Bernard, 6-2, 6-3, and in doing so, earned an automatic bid into the U.S. Open Tennis Championships qualifying draw. Shelton would finish in the runner-up spot at the USTA Boys Nationals after falling to No. 1-seed, Zachary Svajda, who also won the tournament back in 2019.
Shelton paired with Bruno Kuzuhara for doubles competition as they earned a No. 1-seed and first-round bye at the Zoo Nationals tournament. They cruised through the competition, posting a 12-1 set record over six matches and ultimately defeating the No. 2-seed pairing of Ethan Quinn and Sebastian Gorzny, 6-4, 6-4, to win the doubles title.
At the Cary Challenger 80, Shelton competed with Aleksander Kovacevic in doubles, where the duo made it to the semifinals before losing to pair Petros Chrysochos and Michail Pervolarakis. Shelton also tallied a singles victory in the first round over Pervolarakis, 6-3, 6-2.
In late June, Shelton participated in the M15 Weston tournament where he won three singles matches. His first two wins came in the qualifying draw against Mwendwa Mbithi, 6-4, 7-6 (3), and Ronald Hohmann 6-3, 6-2. Then, he secured a first-round victory in the main draw over Khololwam Montsi, 4-6, 6-2, 3-1 (retired).
Players Mentioned
/ Men's Tennis
Inside Florida Gators Men's Tennis
Wednesday, July 17
One-on-One with Coach Steinberg 3-7-24
Thursday, March 07
Bryan Shelton Postmatch 2-2-23
Saturday, February 04
Jonah Braswell Postmatch 2-2-23
Saturday, February 04
