NEW YORK — Frances Tiafoe solved Ben Shelton‘s big serve and played brilliantly at the net to win their all-American rematch at the US Open 4-6, 7-5, 6-7 (5), 6-4, 6-3 on Friday and get back to the fourth round at Flushing Meadows for the fifth consecutive year.
A year ago in New York, Tiafoe was eliminated by Shelton in four sets in the quarterfinals. The year before that, Tiafoe, who loves the tournament’s spotlight and its electricity, defeated Rafael Nadal on the way to the US Open semifinals, the best Grand Slam showing of his career.
Tiafoe hasn’t always excelled at five-setters: He was just 6-13 in matches that went the distance before Friday. Shelton was 6-2. But none of that mattered on this occasion. After getting past Shelton in a match that lasted 4 hours, 3 minutes, Tiafoe spread his arms wide and looked around at the thousands cheering in Arthur Ashe Stadium. The two pals then met at the net for a hug and a lengthy chat.
“I’ve got to say, Ben’s an incredible player, man,” Tiafoe told spectators during a postmatch interview. “He’s an incredible player. He really is. He goes for all kind of shots. He’s got no care in the world. It’s really annoying. … He’s really talented. He can come up with great shots. So can I. It’s highlight after highlight. I hope you guys enjoyed the show.”
Said Shelton: “I thought he played lights-out today … you’ve got to be happy for a guy and congratulate — especially a guy like him when he’s playing the way he’s playing. I think that it’s important to show that you can be happy for a guy when they beat you.
“Obviously there are some things I want to do better. I’m a competitor. I always want to win. But, you know, I’ve taken a few things from him in the past year, and I thought that he’s always handled it well. … I told him keep serving like that, keep returning like that, and see where this thing goes.”
Up next for Tiafoe is No. 28 Alexei Popyrin, who upset 24-time Grand Slam champion Novak Djokovic, the defending champ at Flushing Meadows, late Friday night.
Many people were figuring Shelton vs. Tiafoe would be at night, but instead it was in the afternoon, and began in front of a sparse crowd because the stands emptied at the conclusion of the previous encounter, 2023 champion Coco Gauff’s victory over Elina Svitolina.
“All my friends and close ones [were] saying, ‘How is he not playing at night? I don’t know how I’m going to get there.’ Da, da, da. Blah, blah,…
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