Frances Tiafoe outduels fellow American Ben Shelton in five-set US Open thriller
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Frances Tiafoe (left) sharing a lighthearted moment with his pal and fellow American Ben Shelton after winning in their US Open third-round match.
PHOTO: AFP
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NEW YORK – Frances Tiafoe and Ben Shelton are good pals off the tennis court and after the latter promised a “war” in their US Open third-round encounter on Aug 30, the crowd were brought to their feet on several points and rallies as the match went the distance.
In the end, it was Tiafoe who rallied to beat his fellow American in an electrifying five-setter, avenging a quarter-final loss to Shelton at Flushing Meadows last season.
Tiafoe, with a brilliant return game and aggressive play at the net, won 4-6, 7-5, 6-7 (5-7), 6-4, 6-3 to line up a fourth-round clash with Australian Alexei Popyrin.
“Losing last year to him, (I) struggled for a long time,” he said. “Played really, really bad for a very, very long time. A lot of things have happened since then. I struggled with a lot of things, motivation-wise, things like that, taking the game for granted.
“So it was amazing to have that match-up. What an incredible match, incredible atmosphere. It was epic.”
Shelton pounded 23 aces, but Tiafoe mustered 21 break points and converted five. That included one break in each of the last two sets – enough to send him through.
“I thought since I’ve been on Tour, today was probably the best that anyone has returned my serve that I have seen,” said 13th seed Shelton.
Tiafoe, the 20th seed, said his return game had improved since working with coach David Witt.
“That paid a lot of dividends,” the 26-year-old said. “I wished I served better throughout the match but I served really well at the end, and that’s kind of what counts.
“Ben’s an incredible player, man, and he comes up with the goods a lot. It was definitely a tough match.”
When Tiafoe closed it out after an intense 4hr 3min, he spread his arms to the roaring Arthur Ashe Stadium crowd before meeting his good friend for a lengthy hug.
“I really hope you guys enjoyed the show,” said the winner, who beat Rafael Nadal on the way to the semi-finals two years ago in what is still his best Grand Slam performance.
After a slowish start to the season, Tiafoe has won 12 of his past 16 matches and five of his past six against top-20 players. The only exception was his loss to world No. 1 Jannik Sinner in the final at Cincinnati in August.
He added that when he fell two sets to one down against Shelton last season, he “fell away quickly, broken twice, pretty unacceptable the way I lost in the end”.
He was determined not to let that happen again.
“It’s been something I have been doing much better,” he said. “I just don’t lay down. I want to win or lose matches knowing the guy beat me, I didn’t beat myself.”
Despite his disappointment, the 21-year-old Shelton had no hesitation in enthusiastically congratulating Tiafoe at the net.
“It didn’t feel right to just go up with a negative look on my face, shake his hand and walk off the court, because he played some great ball today,” he said.
“I told him, you know, keep serving like that, keep returning like that, and see where this thing goes.” AFP, REUTERS
