Florida Tennis: Ben Shelton falls in second round at Wimbledon

Carrying the flag for Florida tennis into Wimbledon, former Florida Gator Ben Shelton was hoping to recreate the magic he had at the Australian Open earlier this year.

Shelton managed to win his opening match but learned just how tough it is to make deep runs at tennis majors as he lost in the second round to Laslo Djere in four sets.

Florida Tennis: Keep gaining experience

With the context that this is the first time Shelton was participating at Wimbledon and he does not have much prior experience playing on grass, it would be unfair to have expected another deep run from Shelton.

But as the 36th-ranked player in the world and the 32nd seed at the tournament, Shelton did have a decent draw that could have seen him through to the third round before facing another ranked player.

After surviving in five sets against Taro Daniel in the first round, Shelton was matched up against Djere from Serbia.

The first set went great for Shelton, winning 6-3.

Shelton tried to be even more aggressive at the net than he was against Daniel and had decent success with 59 net points won on 93 attempts.

But the downfall for Shelton was similar to what almost cost him Daniel. While he had 44 winners, one more than Djere, he also had 30 unforced errors, eight more than Djere.

And in a tight match where Djere ultimately won eight more total points than Shelton, the smallest of margins matter.

Shelton lost the second set 6-3, the third set in a tiebreaker (7-5), and the fourth set 6-3 to end his singles tournament in London.

As Shelton continues to carry the Florida tennis banner around the world, it will be fun to track his progress and see his game continue to mature and grow. He will no doubt be looking to make a run at the US Open, where he will get to be back on his preferred surface of hard court.