Frances Tiafoe has secured a ticket to the round of 16 of the 2024 US Open after surviving an intense All-American battle against Ben Shelton. He claimed a 4-6, 7-5, 6-7 (5-7) and 6-3 victory after five competitive sets that lasted four hours and six minutes.
Prior to this game, Tiafoe was 0-2 against Shelton. Their first meeting was in the quarterfinals of the US Open last year, which Shelton won in four sets.
“Ben is an incredible player, man,” Tiafoe said after the game. “He throws all kinds of punches, he doesn’t care at all. This is really annoying. He has a great serve and he has great energy out here. He's really talented, he can hit great shots, and so can I.” . We both move really well, so it's one highlight after another. I really hope you enjoyed the show.
Tiafoe was a semifinalist at the US Open in 2022, which is his biggest achievement at a major tournament to date. He has had a rollercoaster ride of a year, But he came to Flushing Meadows ranked No. 20 and one of the top Americans hoping to end a Grand Slam drought. No American has won a major trophy since Andy Roddick won the trophy at the 2003 US Open.
After losing the first set on Friday, Tiafoe gave a glimpse of how competitive the rest of the match would be by winning the second set.
It looked like No. 13 seed Shelton was starting to run away when he took a 5-3 lead in the third set, but Tiafoe caught up and forced a tiebreak. Shelton quickly took a 6-0 lead, but his opponent wasn't about to give him a set that had already lasted an hour. Tiafoe took the next five points before Shelton hit the fastest serve of the game at 143 mph to win the tiebreak. That was also the fastest serve of the entire tournament so far.
Tiafoe took a 5-4 lead in the fourth set but continued to struggle to capitalize on break point opportunities. However, in the end he was successful and forced a fifth set.
Shelton appeared tired and allowed Tiafoe to take a 4-1 lead in the decider. The 20-year-old hit back by winning the next game, but Tiafoe remained confident and eventually got the job done.
Tiafoe will next face the winner of the match between No. 28 seed Alexei Popyrin and No. 2 seed Novak Djokovic.
