Ben Shelton Shining, Trying To Make Mark On First Trip Out Of The United States | ATP Tour

Bryan Shelton competed in the Australian Open main draw six times in singles during his career. But perhaps his most notable moment in Melbourne came off the court. One year, the American was in the lobby of the Como Hotel when he met a woman named Lisa, the sister of colleague Todd Witsken.

This year, Bryan and Lisa’s son, Ben Shelton, is playing in the Australian Open for the first time.

“I think that would be a cool place to see,” the younger Shelton told ATPTour.com of the Como Hotel, cracking a laugh.

Shelton is one of the hottest prospects on the circuit. The lefty was even invited to participate in Australian Open Kids Tennis Day alongside superstars like Ashleigh Barty, Iga Swiatek, Nick Kyrgios and more.

What might surprise you is that the No. 92 player in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings is on his first trip outside the United States. Why?

“I was asking my dad about playing some ITFs or playing outside the country [in the juniors] and he asked me if I was the best player in the United States,” Shelton recalled. “I told him, ‘No, I’m not.’ And he said, ‘So why would we go to another country when you’re not the best player here?’

“I think it was pretty good advice looking back at it and I’m getting all those experiences now, so I’m pretty happy with how things went.”

Shelton certainly picked a doozy for his first international trip, flying across the world to Australia. Before departing for his first tournament of the year in Adelaide, the longest flight he had taken was six hours from Miami to San Francisco.

“The timing ended up that we left around 10, 11 p.m. from LA and I landed at 8 a.m. in Australia, so I was able to sleep most of the flight and take it like a normal night of sleep. It wasn’t too bad,” Shelton said, cracking a smile. “Maybe a little bit [nervous] about how my body was going to react after the flight, but I wasn’t too nervous about actually flying.

“I told myself I was going to try to sleep most of the time and that seemed to be the easiest way to try to pass the time. That was the goal and I did a pretty good job.”

The American admitted if he had to redo anything, he would have flown over a few days earlier to give himself extra time to prepare before his first match. But Shelton knows he is going through a learning process, taking new lessons on board every day during his first full season as a professional.

“I’m really excited to be out here full time,” Shelton…