Dane Sweeny: Euphoria, disbelief and a legendary shot that lives in the mind of Ben Shelton | ATP tour | Tennis

Player Features

Dane Sweeny: Euphoria, disbelief and a legendary shot that lives in Shelton’s head

Australian speaks to ATPTour.com after memorable victory against Monfils
January 21, 2026

Dane Sweeny may only be 6ft tall, but the Australian stood very tall in the biggest moment of his life on Tuesday. With match point against fan favorite and former Top 10 star Gael Monfils, the 24-year-old showed his mettle for the final time of the day, unleashing a huge forehand winner on the line.

The No. 182 player in the PIF ATP Rankings fell on his back, threw his racket several meters away and then did the same with his hat. Sweeny covered his face for a moment, took a deep breath and lay down on the field, taking in the moment.

“Euphoric, I would say. A bit of disbelief. It’s a pretty incredible feeling. It hasn’t fully sunk in yet,” Sweeny told ATPTour.com of his victory over the Frenchman. “But just a lot of gratitude, a lot of gratitude, that’s all I can say. I just feel extremely happy and fortunate, it’s an overwhelming feeling.”

Gratitude was the word Sweeny kept coming back to. This is someone who had previously played just one main draw match in a major – a heartbreaking five-set defeat at Melbourne Park against Francisco Cerundolo two years ago – and he had found a way to upset a notoriously tough fighter in Monfils.

“It’s just the gratitude. That was more overwhelming than anything else, just to play in front of an audience,” Sweeny said. “Yes, I was nervous, but more than that, I felt absolutely honored to be playing in front of an audience and being able to play tennis on the big stage. So yes, there were a lot of nerves. But again, more than the nerves, I just felt very happy and grateful.”

“I think that kept me laughing and light-hearted, and really enjoying the moment and not being too overwhelmed and taking it too seriously.”

Gael Monfils congratulates Dane Sweeny on his victory on Tuesday at the Australian Open.” style=”width:100%;” src=”https://www.atptour.com/-/media/images/news/2026/01/21/04/34/monfils-sweeny-australian-open-2026.jpg?w=100%25″>

It’s not the first time this year that Sweeny has shown that mentality on the field. After losing in straight sets to 6’11” Reilly Opelka in Brisbane, the Australian grabbed a chair to stand up to hug the American.

“I just try not to be too serious with my tennis,” Sweeny said at the time. “And I told the guys, my friends, that at the end of the match I was going to do the Dudi Sela. Dudi Sela did it a while ago with Karlovic. So I thought that was quite iconic and he’s 18 inches taller and I thought it would be quite funny.”

Sweeny doesn’t have much experience at this level, but he is a familiar face for eighth seed Ben Shelton. The big-serving southpaw remembers Sweeny from one of the first ITF World Tennis Tour events he played in July 2021.

“I think that was one of the best shots I’ve ever hit. Maybe he saw it. Hopefully that intimidates him a little bit,” Sweeny said with a laugh. “If this is the one I’m thinking of, I played Strong Kirchheimer, and it was a big point – maybe a break point in the third set, or deuce, – maybe on his serve. He got into my forehand and I went diving, topspin forehand crosscourt winner.”

“I have a lot of respect for Dane Sweeny,” Shelton said on ESPN. “I only played two or three Futures, but one of them he was there. I remember… I played in Champaign, Illinois. He was there and everyone was talking about him because he hit a dazzling forehand pass winner, so he’s one of those guys who can cheer up a crowd.”

Shelton can do the same, and Sweeny is well aware of that. The American reached the quarter-finals of the Australian Open on his tournament debut in 2023 and has developed into a Top 10 force.

“Pretty incredible. He’s done it super fast. He plays with a lot of confidence and he kind of owns the stage and that’s his

“I always want to win and that’s a given, but all I can do is control what I can control, no matter how big the stage is, no matter who I’m playing against. That’s all I can do, so that’s all I can ask myself.”