Ben Shelton Advances in US Open with Victory Over Denis Shapovalov
QUEENS, N.Y. — The clock had long slipped past midnight, the air heavy and stubborn over Arthur Ashe Stadium, when Ben Shelton finally brought his right arm crashing down on Denis Shapovalov’s resistance.
At 2:08 a.m. in New York, the last forehand was struck, the handshake was done, and Shelton had carved out another step in what is starting to look like a defining US Open run.
He won it 7-6(3), 6-7(5), 6-2, 6-4. A late-night grind, full of surges and stumbles, that left him standing as one of four American men in the quarterfinals — all of them chasing a piece of history that has hung over this tournament since Andy Roddick lifted the trophy in 2003.
A Rivalry Tilted One Way
Shelton walked onto Ashe with a perfect record against Shapovalov and the kind of quiet certainty that comes from knowing the matchup suits you. He was 4-0 against the Canadian coming in, including a tight three-set win in Dallas earlier this year and a five-set thriller at Wimbledon in 2024.
The history mattered. So did the pattern.
Again, Shelton absorbed Shapovalov’s shot-making, rode out the streaks, and then imposed his own.
The opening set turned into a shootout. Both men attacked, both men held firm, and the tiebreak became a test of nerve. Shelton blinked less. He jumped on Shapovalov’s second serve, took control of the rallies, and ran away with the breaker 7-3.
Shapovalov, though, is rarely out of a match just because he’s lost a set. He came back swinging. The second set followed a similar script, only this time it was Shelton who let his grip slip.
“I was serving for the set twice and ended up losing the set when I felt like I was in control,” Shelton admitted afterward. The numbers backed him up; the momentum had been his. Then it wasn’t.
The Canadian snatched the tiebreak 7-5, and suddenly a long, bruising night seemed to be opening up.
Reset, Refocus, Take Over
That was the hinge point.
Shelton could have sunk into frustration. Instead, he did exactly what he described: reset and refocused.
“I really had to reset and refocus,” he said. “It was important for me to get the next two sets and not be out here in a five-set war. I am happy with the way I recovered.”
The third set showed what that reset looked like in real time. The serve, already a weapon, turned ruthless. He used his pace and precision to pin Shapovalov back, then pounced when the Canadian’s level dipped. The rallies shortened. The scoreboard tilted. Shelton raced through the set 6-2, and with it, he took command of the match.
The pressure finally told again early in the fourth. An immediate break handed Shelton control, and he never really loosened his grip. Shapovalov chased, pressed, tried to conjure something spectacular, but the American’s serve and composure under the lights carried him through 6-4.
It was late. It was loud. And it was decisive.
A Path Paved Under the Lights
This wasn’t a run built on one night.
Shelton arrived in Queens as the top American in the men’s draw, and he has played like it. His tournament started under the Ashe lights on Monday, when Tallon Griekspoor jumped on him early and threatened to turn the evening into a shock.
Shelton trailed 0-2 in the opening set and, after just 28 minutes, Griekspoor had raced to a 6-1 lead. It looked ugly. It didn’t last.
The former Florida Gator steadied himself, grabbed a 2-0 lead in the second set, and then let the crowd carry him. Point by point, he wrestled control away, strung together games, and turned a shaky start into a confident first-round win.
On Wednesday, he faced Hubert Hurkacz, another dangerous opponent with a big serve and a top-tier pedigree. Shelton came out blazing, snatching the first set in just 32 minutes and landing 85% of his first serves. Hurkacz answered, breaking through to take the second set 7-5 and dragging the match into deeper water.
Shelton didn’t flinch. Holding a 6-5 lead in the fourth set, he converted his match point and walked off with a place in the third round, the kind of tight, timely close that separates hopefuls from contenders.
By the time Shapovalov walked across the net on Friday night, Shelton had already tested his game against contrasting styles and different pressures. The Canadian brought another layer of chaos. Shelton met it with structure, power, and just enough patience.
Tsitsipas Awaits — With Roles Reversed
Now comes a different kind of challenge — and a familiar name.
On Sunday, Shelton will face former world No. 3 Stefanos Tsitsipas in the quarterfinals. The last time they met, in Cincinnati three years ago, Tsitsipas held the higher ground. He was ranked No. 4 in the world then, Shelton just No. 41, and the Greek edged a contested two-set match.
The landscape has shifted.
Shelton enters this showdown as the world No. 9, with Tsitsipas now outside the top 50. The Greek remains dangerous, experienced, and fully capable of finding elite form over best-of-five sets, but the dynamic is different. Shelton is no longer the upstart trying to prove he belongs. He is the favorite, on home soil, with a booming serve and a growing belief that this stage fits him.
Sunday will mark Shelton’s second Grand Slam quarterfinal of the year after his run at the Australian Open. That alone signals a player moving from promising to established.
The question now is simple, and it hangs over Flushing Meadows with every American win: can he push this all the way and finally end the wait that began after Roddick’s 2003 triumph?
