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Former Florida Gators star Ben Shelton will make you care about tennis again

By Benjamin Henderson

MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA - JANUARY 21: Ben Shelton of the United States celebrates match point during the third round singles match against Alexei Popyrin of Australia during day six of the 2023 Australian Open at Melbourne Park on January 21, 2023 in Melbourne, Australia. (Photo by Darrian Traynor/Getty Images)
MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA - JANUARY 21: Ben Shelton of the United States celebrates match point during the third round singles match against Alexei Popyrin of Australia during day six of the 2023 Australian Open at Melbourne Park on January 21, 2023 in Melbourne, Australia. (Photo by Darrian Traynor/Getty Images) /
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Admittedly, we here at Hail Florida Hail don’t dedicate a lot of space to the Florida Gators men’s tennis team. It’s nothing against the squad, they just don’t get airtime on the major networks and they often get overshadowed in the Spring by baseball and softball.

If we are really being honest, we don’t really watch much professional tennis either. But former Florida Gators star Ben Shelton has the potential to change that for not just Gator fans but for all of America.

Florida Gators down under

Tennis in America is in a decent but stagnant spot when it comes to TV viewership. 2.2 million people in America watched the finals of Wimbledon in 2022. That’s a number that has more or less been the bar over the last ten years.

While the Williams sisters carried the mantle for America women for years, and Coco Gauff is in position to take the baton, the men’s side hasn’t really had a true American star since the days of Pete Sampras and Andre Agassi.

No, I’m not counting Andy Roddick as a star.

I haven’t watched any of the Australian Open this year because I have a toddler, and work, and I do this thing called sleep. But from the highlights I’ve seen it’s been riddled with lots of showmanship, but also lots of whining.

Players for both the men and women have whined about the crowds being noisy, opponents celebrating, and not being able to use the restroom among other things.

Enter into the scene former Florida Gators national champion Ben Shelton. He helped lead Florida to the team title in 2021 and he won the individual title in 2022.

Shelton has a mix of positivity combined with just enough showmanship that not just Florida Gators fans can get behind but all American tennis fans can cheer for.

After a win, Shelton isn’t afraid to bust out the Gator Chomp, even at a Grand Slam.

His run to the Round of 16 has had a bit of good fortune. As seen above, his first round match against Zhizhen Zhang went to a 5th set tie breaker.

The bracket has also been in his favor. Tonight’s opponent, fellow American J.J. Wolf, will be the highest ranked opponent Shelton has had to face yet (ranked 67th).

But there are reasons to believe that this run by Shelton isn’t a one time fluke and fans of the Florida Gators will have a rooting interest in tennis for years to come.

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