“Shut off the brain, close your eyes and just swing”: How Shelton beat Tiafoe in the US Open quarter-finals
Ben Shelton has come of age at the US Open, stunning Frances Tiafoe in four sets to make his first Grand Slam semi-final
Chryslene Caillaud / Panoramic
Ben Shelton wasn’t supposed to defeat Frances Tiafoe in the US Open quarter-finals on Tuesday.
He’s 20 years old. Tiafoe is five years his senior, and has been here and done it all before, making the US Open semi-finals in 2022.
Shelton was 0-5 against top 10 opponents, with his only career top 10 victory coming against Casper Ruud last year in Cincinnati. Prior to the US Open, he hadn’t won back-to-back matches on the ATP Tour since January.
And yet, with a blistering display of youthful bravado, Shelton has blasted his way into the US Open semi-finals, defeating Tiafoe in four sets, 6-2, 3-6, 7-6 (7), 6-2.
Historic Shelton vs Tiafoe clash starts slow
Before this match even started, it was a celebration of American tennis. What made this quarter-final even more special was it marked the first time that two men of African-American descent had ever met in a US Open quarter-final.
With both known for their lively personalities and outrageous shot-making, fans at the night session on Arthur Ashe were braced for a wild match.
The opening two sets played out somewhat anti-climactically, with Shelton breaking in the fifth and seventh games of the first set to claim it 6-2, and Tiafoe returning fire with a break of his own to take the second 6-3.
The third set, however, was where this match really heated up.
Jab, jab, hook: How the third set turned this match in Shelton’s favour
With Tiafoe and Shelton representing two of the biggest servers on Tour, an outrageous six breaks unfolded across the course of the set. Rightfully, the set headed to a tiebreaker, with advantage leaning in the 25-year-old’s favour due to his strong record under pressure this season.
However, it was Shelton who dominated the breaker, getting himself to 6-4 and two shots at going up 2-1 sets. That is, until his youthful enthusiasm got the better of him, and the 20-year-old served up back-to-back double faults to concede his set points.
Moments later, Tiafoe was up a set point of his own, and it looked like this quarter-final would swing right back to the grip of the elder statesman.
Until Shelton did what he later described as “sometimes you’ve gotta shut off the brain, close your eyes and just swing,” ripping out an outrageous forehand return off Tiafoe’s serve to save set point, with the ball catching both lines in the right-hand corner of the court.
The younger American went on to win the set and never looked back, running right through the fourth to win 6-2 and book a spot in his first Grand Slam semi-final. Up next, Shelton faces Novak Djokovic, who is into his 47th Grand Slam final. The 20-year-old’s response?
“It doesn’t get much better than that.”
