A player leaves the United States for the first time and reaches the quarter-finals in Melbourne

Australia's MELBOURNE | American Ben Shelton recently had the first stamp in his passport placed on it. A native of the United States, the 89th-ranked player in the world has never traveled abroad.

Certainly not for a trip with the family. There have been a few crazy stories since the start of the Australian Open, but none compares to that of Shelton, 20, who will play Tuesday evening, or the night of Tuesday to Wednesday, the quarterfinals of the first major tournament of the season. • READ ALSO: "If I go to the casino, I'm sure to win" - Andrey Rublev • READ ALSO: Djokovic painless and dangerous.

Then, on Monday, who will climb into the top 50 of the ATP rankings. According to the American, he was a merely average player in his adolescence.

Because he would "still lose, but learn the same things [as in the United States]," his father Bryan, who was once ranked 55th in the world, did not see the benefit of sending him on an overseas trip. Additionally, Shelton went to a conventional public school, making extended absences a problem.

Without having any expectations, I arrived in Australia but, lo and behold, the average player has advanced considerably in recent years. He participated in NCAA competitions for the Florida Gaitors, an American college team.

During the next two weeks, he will be taking a few distance learning courses in addition to his ongoing studies. After defeating fellow countryman JJ Wolf, ranked 67th in the world, on Monday with scores of 6-7 (5), 6-2, 6-7 (4), 7-6 (4), and 6-2, he admitted in a press conference that he had no expectations when he took off in December.

Due to exhaustion and jet lag, I anticipated that adjusting to Australia would be extremely difficult. He continued, "I knew it would be complicated because it was my first time traveling outside of the country.

"Having no expectations or pressure to perform well, in my opinion, was beneficial. I was free to play uninhibitedly and be myself.

That, in my opinion, has played a significant role in my success. Last summer, a win over Ruud Shelton had already provided some hints about his talent to other pros on the circuit.

The 6-foot-4 young man, a guest of the event's organizers, had advanced to the third round of the Cincinnati Masters. The world's second-ranked player, Norwegian Casper Ruud, had been defeated by the American.

A few weeks later, Shelton experienced the grandeur of important competitions in New York, where he fell to Nuno Borges of Portugal in a five-set match. At the time, Borges was ranked 104th. Prior to the beginning of the Australian fortnight, the American competed in two events in Oceania: qualifying in Adelaide, where he was eliminated in the first round, and two main draw matches in Auckland, where he was eliminated in the second round.

These last two results did not indicate that Shelton would have such a brilliant outbreak in Melbourne, especially considering the time difference and the roughly 9500 kilometers that separated him for the first time from his home country. He wants his diploma. The young player claimed he pinch himself to make sure he wasn't dreaming after the third round and his victory over the Australian Alexei Popyrin, ranked 113th in the world.

Shelton isn't actually dreaming, though. The cheerful young man is also fairly down to earth.

Because he would continue to enroll in his university's finance courses even if he defeated his compatriot Tommy Paul, who is ranked 35th, in the quarterfinals and won the trophy the following Sunday. He said, "I really want to get my degree.

But this entire week has been exceptional," he said with a smile. I'm in excellent shape.

Prior to the beginning of the Australian fortnight, the American competed in two events in Oceania: qualifying in Adelaide, where he was eliminated in the first round, and two main draw matches in Auckland, where he was eliminated in the second round.