Ben Shelton has reached the semifinals of the U.S. Open as an unseeded player, and he’s carrying an Alabama connection in the nation’s biggest tennis tournament.

Shelton is the 20-year-old son of Huntsville native Bryan Shelton.

Playing for Randolph School, Bryan Shelton won the AHSAA Class 1A-3A boys’ tennis singles championships in 1982, 1983 and 1984. He also teamed with Wayne Teng to win the Class 1A-3A boys’ doubles crown in 1984, when the Raiders captured the AHSAA Class 1A-3A boys’ team championship.

Shelton went on to win the ACC men’s singles championship at Georgia Tech and play professionally.

The furthest his father got at the U.S. Open was the second round, but Ben Shelton reached the semifinals by defeating No. 10 seed Frances Tiafoe 6-2, 3-6, 7-6 (7), 6-2 on Tuesday night at Arthur Ashe Stadium in New York.

Shelton won the final three points of the third-set tiebreaker to take control of the match. A winning forehand return kept the set going before Tiafoe netted a return to put Shelton in front, then hit a backhand long.

Shelton had 14 aces in the match to raise his total to a tournament-leading 76.

Playing in the U.S. Open for the second time, the big-serving left-hander was the only unseeded player to reach the quarterfinals in men’s singles and advanced to a semifinal match against Novak Djokovic, who has won 23 Grand Slam men’s singles titles. Shelton and Djokovic will square off on Friday for a spot in the championship match.

Shelton is ranked 47th in the world.

After his playing career, Bryan Shelton became a tennis coach. He guided the Georgia Tech women’s team to the NCAA championship in 2007 and the Florida men’s team to the NCAA championship in 2021. The Gators won the title with Ben Shelton playing for his father.

Mark Inabinett is a sports reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter at @AMarkG1.