Frances Tiafoe defeats Ben Shelton in US Open All-American rematch

Associated Press Press Agency
| Associated Press Press Agency

New York – Frances Tiafoe solved Ben Shelton’s powerful serve and played brilliantly at the net to win their American rematch at the US Open 4-6, 7-5, 6-7(5), 6-4, 6-3 on Friday to advance to the fourth round at Flushing Meadows for the fifth time in a row.

A year ago in New York, Tiafoe was eliminated by Shelton in four sets in the quarterfinals. The year before, Tiafoe — who loves the spotlight and the electricity of the tournament — beat Rafael Nadal en route to the semifinals of the US Open, the best Grand Slam performance of his career.

After beating Shelton in a match that lasted 4 hours and 3 minutes, Tiafoe threw his arms wide and looked out at the thousands of fans at Arthur Ashe Stadium. The two buddies then met at the net for a hug and a long talk.

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“I have to say, Ben is an incredible player, man. He’s an incredible player. He really is. He tries all kinds of shots. He doesn’t care about anything. It’s really annoying. … He’s really talented. He can come up with great shots. Me too,” Tiafoe told viewers during a post-match interview. “It’s one highlight after another. I hope you enjoyed the show.”

Tiafoe’s next opponent could be 24-time Grand Slam champion Novak Djokovic. Djokovic, the defending champion at Flushing Meadows, was scheduled to play No. 28 Alexei Popyrin in the third round on Friday evening.

Many thought the Shelton vs. Tiafoe fight would take place in the evening, but instead it took place in the afternoon and began in front of a small crowd as the stands had emptied out following the conclusion of the previous meeting, 2023 champion Coco Gauff’s victory over Elina Svitolina.

Shelton, a 21-year-old from Georgia, is seeded 13th. Tiafoe, a 26-year-old from Maryland, is 20th. Both are part of a group of five Americans in the top 20 of the ATP rankings, leading some to believe the country’s long wait for a men’s major champion may soon be over. Andy Roddick’s 2003 U.S. Open trophy was the last Grand Slam title for a U.S. man.

The top-ranked American, No. 12 Taylor Fritz, beat Argentine Francisco Comesana 6-3, 6-4, 6-2 and will now face three-time Grand Slam finalist Casper Ruud of Norway or Juncheng Shang of China.

The other men’s fourth-round bout scheduled for Friday was between No. 6 Andrey Rublev and No. 9 Grigor Dimitrov.

Shelton, a lefty, had not lost his serve in two victories this week before Friday and had landed 23 aces while hitting 143 mph. But Tiafoe had racked up 21 break points — the most ever faced by an opponent against Shelton — and converted five, the last one making it 3-1 in the fifth set.

The second key? Tiafoe kept pushing forward and kept volleying. He won 35 of 48 points when he found the net. And as usual, Tiafoe played to the crowd, starting his “Salt Bae” celebration after one point.

Tiafoe hasn’t always been a standout in five-set matches: He was just 6-13 in matches that went into Friday. Shelton was 6-2. But none of that mattered this time. Tiafoe held his own, and an even bigger challenge awaited him.