Photo: AFP
Fast-rising American tennis player Ben Shelton has been handed a wildcard entry to the ASB Classic after climbing inside the top-20 world rankings.
The powerful left-hander will return to Auckland as one of the world's most improved players over the last year - having ascended from a ranking of 96th to 17th in the space of a year.
Shelton, 21, reached the last 16 at New Zealand's premier tournament this year before crossing the Tasman and becoming the youngest American in 40 years to reach the quarterfinals at the Australian Open.
The highlights continued throughout the year, reaching the semifinals at the US Open where he lost to World No 1 Novak Djokovic.
Shelton went on to win the Laver Cup with Team World before his breakthrough ATP Tour tournament victory at the
Tokyo Open.
The American said his season had exceeded expectations, most notably his US Open run.
"Playing in front of a huge crowd at Arthur Ashe was definitely a bucket-list experience for me, something I dreamed about and definitely something I looked forward to," he said.
ASB Classic tournament director Nicolas Lamperin said he was finalising his last few invites, who will be confirmed in the next month for both the WTA women's event from January 1-7 and the ATP men's tournament from January 8-13.
