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By Giri Nathan
[vc_empty_space height="15px"]I thought Ben Shelton could be good; I didn’t think that suspicion would be confirmed so soon, and so loudly. Figured he had the game to make Slam quarterfinals—someday. But the 20-year-old flew right into the second week of the Aussie Open in January, with a little help from a soft draw. That would have been hard to envision at the start of last year, when he was a sophomore at the University of Florida, coached by his dad (and former world No. 55) Bryan Shelton, closing in on an eventual NCAA singles title. In the summer he reeled off three straight Challenger titles and an upset win over then-world No. 5 Casper Ruud in Cincinnati. He took a wild card into the US Open, grinded out a five-set loss, and chose to go pro. That decision looks smarter by the day. With his second-ever appearance in a major, which was also his first-ever trip outside the country(!), Ben already surpassed Pop’s top ranking and presently sits at No. 41. He takes online courses now. If he misses campus life, clearing $383K in a week should dull the pain.