Tiafoe hasn’t been the same since losing to Shelton at the US Open – can he change that on Sunday?
Frances Tiafoe hasn’t been the same since losing to Ben Shelton in the 2023 US Open quarter-finals, but Sunday is an opportunity to make amends
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Frances Tiafoe and Ben Shelton meet in the final of the Houston Open this Sunday, in what is a rematch of their US Open quarter-final from last year.
Since then, however, a lot has changed.
Shelton has gone on to win his maiden Tour-level title, claiming the ATP 500 event in Tokyo, as well as making his first Masters 1000 quarter-final, defeating Jannik Sinner along the way. Off the back of this, the 21-year-old has risen to a career-high ranking of No 15 in the world, with a record of 23-10 since the US Open.
For Tiafoe, it couldn’t be more different. Ranked No 10 in the world when he last played Shelton, the 26-year-old has now fallen out of the top 20, sitting at No 23 in the live rankings ahead of the Houston Open final. Before this week, Tiafoe had only defeated one top 50 player since the US Open last year (in completed matches), and had a shaky 10-13 record over the past seven months.
In their US Open meeting, Tiafoe was the more senior, more experienced, higher seeded player, and was expected to win. He didn’t, and hasn’t been the same since.
Now, Shelton is the one coming into their match with the higher ranking, and the expectation that he wins.
The last time they met was a turning point for Tiafoe. With three wins in a row this week, including two top 50 victories, plus the knowledge that this time last year he was able to win the title in Houston, can he make Sunday another kind of turning point?
