Shelton Set For Top 20 Breakthrough Behind US Open Run

Corinne Dubreuil para ATP Tour

An exciting two weeks at the US Open has clinched key milestones for several rising stars on the ATP Tour, most notably American Ben Shelton. The 20-year-old has produced a career-best performance to climb 28 spots to a career-high No. 19 in the Pepperstone ATP Live Rankings.

The 2022 NCAA singles champion, who was No. 173 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings this time last year, will clash against Novak Djokovic in Friday's semi-finals. Shelton is the youngest US Open men's semi-finalist since Michael Chang in 1992.

Italian Matteo Arnaldi is another bright young star who enjoyed a standout run at the American Slam, launching himself inside the Top 50 of the Pepperstone ATP Live Rankings for the first time. A competitor at last year’s Next Gen ATP Finals, the 22-year-old survived Frenchman Arthur Fils in five sets and upset 16th seed Cameron Norrie to reach the fourth round.

Dominic Stricker made a splash at Flushing Meadows by stunning seventh seed Stefanos Tsitsipas in a five-set, second-round match. The Swiss lefty struck 78 winners throughout the four-hour, 10-minute encounter and maintained his form to make the fourth round, setting him up for a Top 100 debut on Monday.

Borna Gojo and Rinky Hijikata found success at the season’s final major, earning them a spot in the Top 100. The Croatian Gojo, who is No. 76 in the Pepperstone ATP Live Rankings, advanced through qualifying en route to a fourth-round appearance. Hijikata also reached the round of 16, lifting him to No. 81 in the Pepperstone ATP Live Rankings.

On the ATP Challenger Tour, Thiago Seyboth Wild was crowned champion at last week's Challenger Citta’ di Como in Italy to also seal his Top 100 breakthrough this coming Monday. The 23-year-old has collected three Challenger trophies this season and earned his career-best victory at Roland Garros, where he upset Daniil Medvedev.