Former OSU tennis star J.J. Wolf makes fourth round of Australian Open
MELBOURNE (WCMH) -- A former Buckeye has set a new career-high at the first tennis Grand Slam of 2023.
24-year-old J.J. Wolf, who played his collegiate tennis at Ohio State, defeated fellow American Michael Mmoh 6-4, 6-1, 6-2 Saturday in the third round of the Australian Open in Melbourne. The victory puts Wolf into the fourth round marking his best run at a tennis Grand Slam in his young career.
The Cincinnati native was a star for the Buckeyes tennis team from 2017 to 2019 where he earned the No. 1 college ranking in his junior year and amassed a 45-3 record in that same season before turning pro.
On his way to his first Grand Slam round of 16 appearance, Wolf upset No. 23 Diego Schwartzman in the second round in straight sets. He has dropped one set in his first three matches in Melbourne. Wolf's career high professional ranking is 56th.
Next for Wolf is a match against another American, 20-year-old Ben Shelton. The former Florida Gator is playing in just his third Grand Slam and first Australian Open. The two will meet Sunday evening in Melbourne for a quarterfinal berth.
Whoever wins will player either No. 24 seed Roberto Bautista Agut from Spain or American Tommy Paul in the quarterfinals. A match with Novak Djokovic could be looming for Wolf if he makes a stunning run to the semifinals.
Australian Open Bracket: Round of 16
No. 31 Yoshihito Nishioka (Japan) vs. No. 18 Karen Khachanov (Russia)
No. 10 Hubert Hurkacz (Poland) vs. No. 29 Sebastian Korda (USA)
No. 3 Stefanos Tsitsipas (Greece) vs. No. 15 Jannik Sinner (Italy)
Jiri Lehecka (Czechia) vs. No. 6 Felix Auger-Aliassime (Canada)
No. 5 Andrey Rublev (Russia) vs. No. 9 Holger Rune (Denmark)
No. 22 Alex de Minaur (Australia) vs. No. 4 Novak Djokovic (Serbia)
Ben Shelton (USA) vs. J.J. Wolf (USA)
No. 24 Roberto Bautista Agut (Spain) vs. Tommy Paul (USA)