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Ben Shelton surpassed Frances Tiafoe in an All-American fight with a 6-2, 3-6, 7-6 (9-7), 6-2 outcome on Tuesday night in the 2023 United States Open quarterfinals, making a ticket to his very first Grand Slam semifinal. The 20-year-old Shelton is now the youngest American to reach the last 4 of the United States Open considering that Michael Chang in 1992.
The match ended at around 12:30 a.m. ET on Wednesday, however loud cheers filled Arthur Ashe Stadium as Shelton commemorated.
“I feel like I left it all out here tonight. Emotional battle,” Shelton stated in his post-match interview. “Thanks to all of you for staying so late. Hell of an atmosphere, and thanks for pushing me over the line.”
Shelton took the very first set, however No. 10 seed Tiafoe, who reached the semifinals in 2015, wasn’t decreasing without a battle. He won the 2nd set as the 3rd required a tiebreak to choose who would take the lead. Tiafoe went into the night 9-0 in tiebreaks throughout this competition, however Shelton had the ability to snap that streak and bring the momentum into the last set.
“Sometimes you gotta shut off the brain, close your eyes, and just swing,” Shelton stated. “Maybe it was a little bit of that down set point, but it ended up working out. Some may say clutch, but I don’t know about all that.”
The fight at Flushing Meadows was simply the 2nd time 2 black Americans bet each other in the United States Open and the very first time in the quarterfinals.
Shelton hasn’t had the most constant season, however he went into Tuesday’s match as the youngest American guy to advance to the quarterfinals considering that Andy Roddick in 2002. No American guy has actually won a Grand Slam title considering that Roddick in the 2003 United States Open, and none have actually reached a championship considering that 2009.
The 2022 NCAA songs promote turned professional right before in 2015’s United States Open. He was ranked No. 802 2 years back and No. 165 in 2015. Next week, he will be ranked a minimum of No. 19 on the planet.
Shelton has a possibility to end the dry spell for United States guys, however initially, he would need to surpass world No. 2 Novak Djokovic in the semifinal round.
He was inquired about dealing with Djokovic throughout his on-court interview, and Shelton asked the crowd to keep supporting him.
“Yeah, he has won 23 of these, something like that?” he stated. “It doesn’t get much better than that. It’s been tough. The last two matches, I’ve been playing Americans, but hopefully, you guys bring it for me two nights from now.”
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