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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.
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. 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,” Tiafoe told spectators during a postmatch interview. “It’s highlight after highlight. I hope you guys enjoyed the show.”
Up next for Tiafoe could be 24-time Grand Slam champion Novak Djokovic next. Djokovic, the defending champ at Flushing Meadows, was scheduled to play No. 28 Alexei Popyrin in the third round on Friday night.
A lot of 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.
Shelton, a 21-year-old from Georgia, was seeded 13th. Tiafoe, a 26-year-old from Maryland, is 20th. They’re both part of a group of five Americans in the top 20 of the ATP rankings, making some think the country’s long wait for a men’s champion at a major could end someday soon. Andy Roddick’s 2003 US Open trophy was the most recent Slam title for an man from the United States.
The highest-ranked US man at the moment, No. 12 Taylor Fritz, moved on with a 6-3, 6-4, 6-2 win against Francisco Comesana of Argentina and now will take on three-time Slam finalist Casper Ruud of Norway or Juncheng Shang of China.
Another men’s fourth-round matchup established Friday was No. 6 Andrey Rublev vs. No. 9 Grigor Dimitrov.
Shelton, a left-hander, hadn’t lost serve even once in two wins this week before Friday and did manage to produce 23 aces, reaching 143 mph. But Tiafoe accumulated a whopping 21 break points — the most any opponent ever has against Shelton — and converted five. The last made it 3-1 in the fifth set.
The other key? Tiafoe kept charging forward, and he kept putting away volleys. He won 35 of 48 points when he made it to the net. And, as usual, Tiafoe played to the fans, breaking out his “Salt Bae” celebration after one point.
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. Tiafoe came through, and an even greater challenge could await.