Atlanta native comes from behind to survive first round at Wimbledon

LONDON, England — Atlanta native and world No. 14 Ben Shelton is still alive in The Championships at Wimbledon.

Shelton, a 21-year-old rising tennis star born in Atlanta, made waves at the U.S. Open last year, becoming the youngest American to reach the U.S. Open semifinals since 1992.

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After impressive showings in all four major tournaments in the last year, he comes into Wimbledon as the No. 12 seed.

Shelton won his first-round match against Italian Mattia Bellucci 4-6, 6-3, 3-6, 6-3, 6-4.

Bellucci got out to an early lead winning two of the first three sets. But Shelton made up for it in the back half, winning the last two sets to earn the match.

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At last year’s Wimbledon, Shelton made it to the second round, his tournament best. He defeated Japan’s Taro Daniel in the first round but fell to Serbian Laslo Djere in round two.

As he takes the court for the second round, Shelton is hoping to overtake his best placement at the U.K.’s major tournament.

He’s scheduled to face South Africa’s Lloyd Harris on Wednesday morning.

Later this month, Shelton will participate in the Atlanta Open.

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