(September 3, 2023) FLUSHING, NY – It took four sets and almost three hours, but twenty-year-old American Ben Shelton made it past countryman Tommy Paul, exacting a little revenge for losing to Paul in the quarterfinals of the Australian Open winning the match 6-4, 6-3, 4-6, 6-4.

“In Australia I definitely got punched in the mouth a few times,” Shelton said. “I definitely made the mistake of trying to rifle through him on every shot. He’s one of the best defenders and counter-punchers and movers this tour has. Trying to beat him with pace all the time definitely isn’t the answer.

“I tried to use a little bit more of my arsenal to be effective today, to mix things up, not let him stay on balance.”

Shelton won the 2022 NCAA singles title at University of Florida. He turned professional last year. He is coach is his former coach at Florida, his father, former pro Brian Shelton.

Shelton’s booming serve hit 16 aces and his hardest serve was hit at 149 MPH. Shelton rallied from 0-3 down in the first with a chance to be broken a second time when he turned things around.

“I don’t think pace is what makes my serve great,” said Shelton. “I can definitely get up there in the MPHs, but if I hit 147 every single serve, the guys out here are going to catch up to it and they’re going to start returning it and they’re going to do it well.

“Being able to change paces is something that’s really important for me. I saw the 149 on the screen. Yeah, that’s cool, but I’m also not out there to chase the miles per hour. I’m trying to effectively hold serve.

“I think it hurt me a little bit today hitting 149, then maybe 141, then 149 again. I got broken my next two games. I think that sometimes when I’m chasing a number or I try to hit harder than is within myself, it messes up my rhythm.”

“I think when you have opportunities in a 3-0 game to get a double break, I think I had a few breakpoints there and one was, like, a short forehand.” Paul said.

Those kind of points are much bigger than they look. They’re not just like, you saved that point and then you hold serve. I mean, it can swing sets, and that’s kind of exactly what happened. He ended up holding serve and I got broken the next game. He picked up his level a ton.

“He’s got a super jumpy serve. He was going after his second serves really aggressive today, which wasn’t fun. He gave me, like, no rhythm the whole match. You know, the normal stuff when you’re playing a guy who is a server — or, I mean, he’s not just a server. He can obviously run down a lot of balls. Like you said, he’s gotten a lot better there. He definitely earned the match today.”

Shelton went on to win the set 6-4 and the second 6-3.

In the third set when the young American was up 4-1, it looked as though he would close out the match in straight sets. Paul won five straight games to push the match to a fourth set.

“I had a little bit more energy,” Paul said. “I brought a little bit more energy in the third, I think. I think he maybe started thinking a little bit and gave me a few more second serves, gave me a few more — I felt like a lot of times in the first two sets I’d return pretty well, and he would, like, pick up off the shoelaces, like two inches from the baseline. I’m like, That’s pretty good. Then there in the third he gave me a few opportunities. That was nice.”

“Yeah, I’m really excited,” Shelton said in his news conference. “Definitely on Cloud 9 after a match like that. Really happy to be through to the final eight. Definitely a dream for me since I have been a kid. Just playing here at the US Open, but to go through the draw the way that I have and have the opportunity to play in the quarterfinals is pretty cool.”

“I came out pretty good,” noted Paul. “Then gave the break right back. Didn’t serve as well as I would have liked to today. I haven’t looked at the stats, but I feel like my first-serve percentage was pretty low and wasn’t getting much pop on it. He has a pretty good serve and he’s not easy to break. That was pretty much the difference in the match.”

Shelton talked about what gave him the match: “I think the key for me was making sure that I played within myself. I didn’t try to play too well or be too perfect or think that I had to be too good or hit the ball too hard to try to win that match.

“I think that the more that I slowed things down, you know, changed up speeds and just kind of stayed calm and confident in my game style and didn’t try to extend myself outside of what I have, I think that was the biggest part for me to get over the line.”

Unseeded Shelton will place countryman No. 10 Frances Tiafoe next.

Frances Tiafoe advanced to the quarterfinals of the US Open for a second straight year with a 6-4, 6-1, 6-4 win over wild card Rinky Hijikata in Louis Armstrong Stadium.

The two-hour match saw the American out point the Australian 90-64, hitting 27 winners, including 15 aces.

“I was actually a little bit nervous there in the beginning,” said. “Wasn’t playing that great. I think at 4-All when I broke, I finally settled in and I took my game to another level. I made it super tough for him.

“Got a little sloppy there at the end. Overall in the match, I think my game’s in a good place. I’m moving well, serving pretty well. Can’t really complain.”

On playing friend Ben Shelton in the next round:

“I mean, he’s just an extremely loud player,” Tiafoe said. “Hits the ball big, serves huge, pretty much serving at 150 today. Throwing his whole harm at that thing. He’s so pumped up. Comes to the net. He’s got great volleys. He’s really athletic.

“I mean, he’s a great player. He’s fun to watch. He’s saying the loudest c’mon from the first point of the match till the last (smiling). He’s yelling. He’s got a lot of energy, so… He’s great for the sport. It’s cool to see a guy like that play.

“For me, I enjoy playing lefties. I like playing lefties. I’m going to try to do a good job, make him play a lot of balls, just try to make it a really tough night for him.

“We’ll see. Not gonna lay out all the anecdotes right here.”

“Ben has wanted to play me at the Open for a long time,” Tiafoe added. “So he’s going to be super excited. He’s going to come out with a lot of energy.

“I’m just going to have to tame him down, try to be the vet and get the win. It’s going to be good. It’s going to be a great atmosphere, I think great representation for people of color, right? Two people of color playing in the quarterfinals, huge match on Arthur Ashe. It’s a pretty monumental moment. I’m pretty excited to compete against him. Hopefully it’s a great battle.”

“Frances as a player is electric,” Shelton admitted. “He’s kind of been like a brother to me since I’ve been out here on tour and a guy who has kind of told me that he believed in me from my first ATP tournament. Just a great guy off the court. But on the court a nightmare to deal with. He does so many things well. One of them being engaging the crowd.

“He’s just one of those guys where it’s must-see TV. You want to watch him play all the time. He kind of has that Carlos Alcaraz effect, especially here in New York. This is his place where he really wants to show up.

“To be able to play against him in the quarterfinals on Arthur Ashe is something that’s pretty special.”

More to follow…