Ben Shelton shows off range as he beats Casper Ruud to face Jannik Sinner at Australian Open | ATP Tour
ATP Tour
Shelton shows off his range, overpowers Rudd, takes on Sinner at Australian Open
The U.S. team came back in four sets with a net winning rate of 97%.
January 26, 2026
Martin Cape/Getty Images
Ben Shelton is competing in his fourth consecutive Australian Open.
Jerome Coombe
Ben Shelton showed off his increasingly versatile game at the Australian Open on Monday as he defeated Caspar Rudd in Melbourne to reach the quarterfinals.
The 23-year-old American combined tough defense with explosive offense to seal the victory 3-6, 6-4, 6-3, 6-4 after two hours and 36 minutes at Rod Laver Arena. It marks Shelton’s third quarter-final appearance in four trips to Melbourne Park, where he will meet two-time defending champion Jannik Sinner.
“To me, atmosphere is everything,” Shelton said. “I’m definitely a competitor. I’m rowdy on the court and I look forward to the raucous crowds. There’s no shortage of tournaments like this in Australia… I’ve been in love with this tournament since my first tournament. It’s one of my favorite events that I mark on my calendar every year.”
The quarter-finals are inevitable! 👏@benshelton Eliminated Van Nistelrooy to advance to the Grand Slam quarter-finals for the fifth time in his career💪#AO26 pic.twitter.com/Qp1kC6H4y3
— ATP Tour (@atptour) January 26, 2026
Rudd set the tone with a dominant serving performance in the opening set, but the Norwegian would pay dearly for service errors late in the second and third sets, moments that allowed Shelton to take control of the match.
Once ahead, the eighth seed raised its game, hitting a series of eye-catching winners and scoring at the net with authority. According to Infosys Stats, Shelton won the match with a 97% (29/30) net rating and dropped just 3 points in the fourth set to end the match on a strong note.
“It’s the thing you look forward to most in this sport,” Shelton said of his upcoming match against Sinner, who leads 8-1 in the Lexus ATP Head2Head Series, including a victory in last year’s semifinals in Melbourne. “This is where I want to be. I want to get back here. I want to give myself another chance and improve on some of the things I didn’t do well last year and leave it all on the court.”
Rudd reached the fourth round of the Australian Open for the first time since 2021 and will now return to Norway, where he and wife Maria are expecting a daughter.
