Former Florida Aces Shelton, Kessler Shine At U.S. Open

Former Gators Ben Shelton defeated Ignacio Buse to move on to the second round, while No. 32 McCartney Kessler went on to take down Magda Linette in the first week of the U.S. Open.

Returning from Toronto with his first ATP Masters 1000 win, No. 6 Shelton was favored to win the match. The two-time Grand Slam semifinalist was up against Buse of Peru, and in two hours, seven minutes, Shelton claimed his first-round victory in New York, 6-3, 6-2, 6-4.

In the match, Shelton served and volleyed successfully 14 out of his 19 tries. He converted four of his 13 break points and saved the five he faced from Buse.

While this might have been their first time playing against each other in New York, Shelton and Buse are familiar with one another. When Shelton played at Florida, Buse visited as a top recruit.

On the women’s side, in her first week at the U.S. Open, Kessler went point-for-point against Magda Linette 7-5, 7-5. With her win, the former Gator earned her first main-draw victory at the US Open.

McCartney Kessler gets her 1st US Open win!

A battle with Magda Linette that had quite a few breaks.

Kessler did a great job staying composed and digging out the win. pic.twitter.com/BvM2imArZy

— Ryan O'Connor (@ryoconnor2) August 24, 2025

The match had the New York crowd at the edge of their seats. Linette came to play aggressive, breaking her opponent on her opening serve. Kessler, who played at UF from 2018-2022, gave it right back to level the set at 1-1. She will move on to play Marketa Vondrousova, a 2023 quarterfinalist, and will record her best Grand Slam result if she wins. Kessler has yet to win in her previous matchups against Vondrousova, with the most recent being at this year’s Wimbledon tournament.

Category: Former Gators, Gator Sports, Gators Tennis, Tennis, US Open