Add another title to former Buchholz and University of Florida tennis star Ben Shelton.

This past Sunday, the former state and national champion advanced to the Japan Open final, his first at the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) level, where he defeated Aslan Karatsev 7-5, 6-1.

He won five matches in a row.

This past September, Shelton advanced the U.S. Semifinals where the then 20-year-old was eliminated by the world’s then No. 2 player and eventual U.S. Open champion Novak Djokovic, 6-3, 6-2, 7-6 (7-4).

Despite the loss, Shelton moved up to No. 19 in the ATP rankings two months ago.

With his newest achievement, he has moved up four spots to No. 15 in Monday’s ATP rankings.

Up next for Shelton is this week’s Erste Bank Open 2023.

The first round (Round of 32) starts on Tuesday at Wiener Stadthalle in Vienna, Austria.

The left-handed Shelton will face No. 2 seed Jannik Sinner in the opening round. Sinner has won 51 matches this season.

This will be a rematch between the 21-year-old Shelton and the 22-year-old Italian, who is ranked No. 4 in the latest ATP rankings.

Shelton, who is one of several area athletes excelling professionally, defeated Sinner in three sets, 2-1, at the 2023 Shanghai Masters.

Daniil Medvedev from Moscow, Russia, is the No 1 seed in the tournament in the top half of the bracket. Medvedev is ranked No. 3 in the ATP rankings.