After a tough start to the US Open, Ben Shelton is finding his form at Flushing Meadows. Will it be enough to defeat defending champion Carlos Alcaraz in the quarter-finals?
The eighth-seeded American set a blockbuster showdown with the Spaniard in the last eight when he marched past former World No. 3 Stefanos Tsitsipas 6-2, 6-3, 6-4 on Sunday evening.
"I thought I played well. Good, clean match," Shelton said. "Happy to be back in the quarters here. Yeah, I'm happy with how I went about my business tonight."
Shelton needed four sets in each of his first three matches against Tallon Griekspoor, Hubert Hurkacz and Denis Shapovalov. But he raised his level inside Arthur Ashe Stadium against Tsitsipas to oust the two-time major finalist in one hour and 51 minutes.
The difficult early draw could prove beneficial for Shelton, who has now defeated three consecutive players who have cracked the Top 10 in the PIF ATP Rankings. The 23-year-old is into his sixth major quarter-final and his second at the US Open, where he made the semi-finals in 2023, which marked just his second appearance in the tournament.
Shelton has done plenty of winning this North American summer, improving to 12-2 since transitioning to the surface after Wimbledon. The big-serving lefty claimed his second ATP Masters 1000 title in Montreal.
Tsitsipas entered their clash with momentum after ousting Cincinnati champion Arthur Fils and following that victory with wins against Lloyd Harris and 18th seed Jiri Lehecka. But the Greek star was never able to assert himself in the match and play the dominant game with which he won the 2019 Nitto ATP Finals.
At 6-2, 5-2, Tsitsipas received a visit from tournament medical staff, and the 28-year-old was never able to work his way into the match. The 13-time ATPTour titlist hit a backhand into the net to relinquish serve at 1-1 in the third set and Shelton cruised to the finish line from there.
"I didn't do anything perfect, by any means. But because I was so focused and was able to repeat what I was doing point after point, I felt I was able to get into a lot of return games and put pressure on," Shelton said. "Finally, for the first time this tournament, I had a focused, purposeful service performance. And that's not just the serve, but what I do with the first and second ball after the serve. So just happy to be through a match where I didn't get broken."
Shelton will now turn his attention to Alcaraz, who produced an impressive straight-sets victory against Tommy Paul earlier in the day. The Spaniard entered the tournament without playing a match since April, but has played as if he missed no time at all in New York.
Alcaraz has won all three of his previous Lexus ATP Head2Head matches against Shelton, but they have not clashed since last year at Roland Garros.
"I've been watching his matches. I think he's playing extremely high level," Shelton said. "To me, he looks very normal — his normal, I mean — which is impressive after not playing for five months. I think it will be a great match. I'm excited for the battle. Never played him here in New York, and obviously in the position that I want to be in.
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