(New York) American Frances Tiafoe emerged victorious from a duel lasting more than four hours against his compatriot Ben Shelton 4-6, 7-5, 6-7 (5/7), 6-4, 6-3, to reach the round of 16 of the US Open on Friday in New York.
On the immense Arthur-Ashe court, the two players put on a superb show, between heavy shots, long exchanges and reversals of situation.
Tiafoe, a semi-finalist at Flushing Meadows in 2022, could face defending champion Novak Djokovic in the round of 16 on Sunday if the Serb dominates Australian Alexei Popyrin in the evening.
Tiafoe (20e world player, 26 years old), finally got the better of Shelton after missing a lot of break points early in the match (five successful out of 21 over the entire match), where Shelton was more clinical (three out of seven).
“Ben is an incredible player, he can make a lot of great shots, he has a great serve. We are both very mobile, the spectacular points came one after the other, I hope you enjoyed the show, four hours of a great battle,” the winner told the crowd.
PHOTO SETH WENIG, ASSOCIATED PRESS
Frances Tiafoe
Shelton (13e world number 21), semi-finalist of the tournament last year, had managed to lead two sets to one thanks to a superb tiebreaker concluded by a terrible ace at 230 km/h, he who accumulated 23 during the game.
But Tiafoe remained focused and, despite further missed opportunities, eventually found an opening on his opponent’s serve at 5-4 in the fourth set, before breaking him at the start of the fifth (3-1).
Another American, Taylor Fritz, qualified for the round of 16 by easily dominating the Argentinian Francisco Comesana 6-3, 6-4, 6-2.
On the men’s tour, the United States has not won a Major since Andy Roddick in New York in 2003.