GAINESVILLE, Fla. —
Ben Shelton got a passport in 2019.
However, he had not used it to travel internationally until this month when he departed to play in the Australian Open.
Shelton's first trip abroad is making headlines in the sports world—and for more than his 142-mph serve in a first-round win.
The 20-year-old Shelton, who announced
five months ago that he was turning pro rather than return for his junior season at UF, advanced to the quarterfinals in Melbourne with a 6-7 (5), 6-2, 6-7 (4), 7-6 (4), 6-2 win over
J.J. Wolf on Monday.
The unseeded Shelton, ranked 89th in the world, will face fellow American
Tommy Paul on Tuesday. Paul is ranked 35th in the world but like Shelton, entered the Australian Open unseeded.
According to ESPN, the matchup will be the first Grand Slam quarterfinal featuring two U.S. men since 2007, when
Andy Roddick beat
Mardy Fish in the Australian Open.
"After the tournament, I will hopefully see a few cool things,'' Shelton
told BBCSport.com. "You can't come all this way and not take in the sights."
For now, Shelton remains on a business trip.
WAITES HURT
The Gators will reportedly be without offensive lineman
Kamryn Waites this spring. Waites
suffered a torn Achilles tendon on Friday during a non-contact drill according to
247Sports.com.
Kamryn Waites
Waites transferred to Florida last spring after playing for UF coach
Billy Napier as a freshman at Louisiana. He was one of the three Ragin' Cajuns to follow Napier to Florida, along with running back
Montrell Johnson Jr. and offensive lineman
O'Cyrus Torrence.
The 6-foot-8, 373-pound Waites projected to compete for a starting spot in 2023. He made his first career start in the Las Vegas Bowl loss to Oregon State after Torrence opted to skip the bowl game to prepare for the NFL Draft. Waites played in 13 games last season, primarily as a blocker on special teams.
The good news is that two of Florida's recent additions via the transfer portal are veteran 0ffensive linemen:
Damieon George Jr. from Alabama and
Micah Mazzccua from Baylor.
The Gators started their offseason program last week and resumed conditioning drills as part of the "Foundation Phase."
TOPICAL TWITTER
Several former Gators have announced their transfer destinations since spring classes started around the country, including running back
Nay'Quan Wright (USF), linebacker
David Reese (Cal) and offensive lineman
Yousef Mugharbil (Colorado). Former Gators receiver
Daejon Reynolds is the latest, announcing his next stop over the weekend after entering the transfer portal last month …
The Gators men's golf team hosted a special visitor recently writes
Alyssa Britton-Harr of the
Independent Florida Alligator ...
Former Gators running back
Ran Carthon is now general manger of the Tennessee Titans and his former UF coach is not surprised ...
