India, Jan. 24 -- "I think I'm an entertainer at heart," he had said ahead of the US Open last year.

His tennis certainly is entertaining. He has that big, monstrous serve that often goes beyond 220 kmph. He has big strokes off both forehand and backhand and is an excellent mover despite his 6 feet 4 inches frame. These are all wonderful tools that give him many moments to celebrate on court.

The tools came together well, again, on Saturday at the Australian Open. Playing against 30th seed Valentin Vacherot of Monaco in the third round, Shelton rarely put a foot wrong as he took two hours and 17 minutes at the Margaret Court Arena to pick up a 6-4, 6-4, 7-6(5) win.

There were a few fist pumps and shouts in that moment of triumph. And t...