Ben Shelton was all smiles as he stepped onto Rod Laver Arena for his quarterfinal match against Lorenzo Sonego at the Australian Open. The 22-year-old American came out firing on all cylinders, taking the first two sets 6-4, 7-5, before Sonego made things interesting with a 4-6 win in the third. But Shelton wasn’t just focused on winning!—he was having fun. After tumbling during the tiebreaker, he bounced back with a few push-ups that had the crowd laughing and cheering. When it all wrapped up, Shelton sealed the win 6-4, 7-5, 4-6, 7-6 (4), securing a spot in his second Grand Slam semifinal and reaching a milestone that echoed back to an iconic era of American tennis!

Wondering what milestone we’re talking about? So here it goes: Ben Shelton, just 22 years and 109 days old, became the youngest American man in over three decades to make it to the semifinals at ‘Happy Slam’ and joined Pete Sampras who pulled off this feat at 21 years and nearly 5 months old, after defeating New Zealand’s Brett Stevens in Quarterfinals. But as history tells us, ‘Pistol Pete’s’ journey ended there, falling to Swedish star Stefan Edberg in the semifinal.

“I feel relieved right now, shoutout to Lorenzo Sonego because that was some ridiculous tennis,” Shelton reflected in his on-court post-match interview. He further added, “I’m just really happy to be through, to get my first win on Rod Laver Arena. Thanks everybody for coming out, it was one of my favorite matches of my career”

Shelton is not just coming up with the questions for the “National Quiz” in the company of Pete Sampras after reaching the Semifinals; the 22-year-old has much more to offer; He has become the second active American man to reach multiple Semifinals in major Grand Slams after shaking things up at the 2023 US Open and now the 2025 Australian Open, joining Frances Tiafoe, the only other American to have achieved this feat after reaching the US Open semis in 2022 and 2024.

Ben Shelton isn’t the only tennis star making history at this year’s Australian Open though. On the WTA side, Paula Badosa is crafting a fairy tale of her own. The Spaniard, determined and composed, reached her first-ever Grand Slam semifinal—an achievement that has eluded her until after defeating American favorite Coco Gauff in straight sets, 5-7, 4-6.

Coming back to Shelton, while the young American is having a remarkable run at the Australian Open, there’s something that has been bothering him. It looks like he isn’t amused by how broadcasters and interviewers have been treating players.

Shelton Speaks Out Against Media’s Player Treatment

Ben shared his concerns about the treatment of players by broadcasters and interviewers, calling their behavior “shocking” and “disrespectful.” He also pointed to incidents like the flap over a commentator’s on-air insult toward Novak Djokovic, which led the 24-time Grand Slam champion to temporarily refuse interviews with Channel 9 until a public apology was issued. Shelton also highlighted “embarrassing” on-court interviews faced by players, including American qualifier Learner Tien, urging a change in the player-media dynamic.

“I’ve been a little bit shocked this week with how players have been treated by the broadcasters. I don’t think that the guy who mocked Novak, I don’t think that was just a single event. I’ve noticed it with different people, not just myself,” Shelton said in a post-match press conference,

“I noticed it with Learner Tien in one of his matches. I think when he beat [Daniil] Medvedev, his postmatch interview, I thought it was kind of embarrassing and disrespectful, that interview. There are some comments that have been made to me in postmatch interviews by a couple of different guys, whether it was, ‘Hey, [Gael] Monfils is old enough to be your dad. Maybe he is your dad,” Shelton added.

Moving ahead, Shelton has his task cut out as he faces World No. 1 and defending AO Champion- Jannik Sinner, who absolutely destroyed Alex De Minaur 6-3, 6-2, 6-1 to move into his 2nd consecutive semifinal.

Can Shelton have in him to upset Sinner? Or is it going to be a second straight final for Sinner? Be seated!