Big-hitting Shelton blasts well beyond Tiafoe into US Open semis

AFP

Big-hitting Ben Shelton blasted his well beyond Frances Tiafoe 6-2 3-6 7-6(7) 6-2 and into the US Open semi-finals on Tuesday in an all-American match-up that lived as much as its blockbuster billing.

With the victory the 20-year-old Shelton turns into the youngest American to achieve the US Open males’s final 4 since Michael Chang in 1992, establishing a gathering with one of many greats of the sport – 23 occasions Grand Slam winner Novak Djokovic.

“Feeling like I left it all out here tonight,” mentioned the forty seventh ranked Shelton, who remains to be trying to find his first ATP Tour win. “Emotional battle and thanks all you guys for staying so late.”

There are usually not too many sporting occasions in New York that create extra buzz than an all-American conflict beneath the Arthur Ashe Stadium lights on the enterprise finish of the season’s ultimate Grand Slam.

The ambiance throughout an evening session is at all times electrical but it surely was dialled up a number of notches for Tiafoe and Shelton, the competition the primary in 15 years to characteristic two Black American males battling on the world’s largest tennis venue.

James Blake and Donald Young met on Ashe within the opening spherical of the 2008 US Open however the stakes had been significantly greater on Tuesday, with the winner shifting on to face Djokovic for a spot in Sunday’s ultimate and the chance to finish a 20-year US Open title drought.

“He (Djokovic) has won 23 of these (Grand Slams), it doesn’t get much better than that,” mentioned Shelton. “It’s been tough the last two matches, I’ve been playing Americans but hopefully you guys bring it for me two nights in a row.”

The tenth seeded Tiafoe, who electrified the house crowd with a run to the semi-finals final 12 months, had dropped just one set en path to the quarter-finals but it surely didn’t take lengthy for Shelton to take a second.

Shelton got here out weapons blazing, along with his groundstrokes struck with such venom they drew gasps from the capability crowd.

After holding his first two serves Tiafoe had no solutions for his opponent’s explosive forehand as Shelton claimed 5 straight video games to grab the opening set.

But there was no panic from Tiafoe as he acquired to grips with Shelton’s large swings, which began to overlook the mark.

He would get his first break possibilities of the match within the sixth sport of the second and levelled at a set apiece.

In a wild third set the momentum appeared to swing on each serve with six breaks, three from every participant, within the first eight video games.

The set would go to a tie-break that was simply as unpredictable with Shelton taking back-to-back double faults, together with one on set level, earlier than lastly successful it 9-7.

There was no mistaking the place the momentum was going into the fourth with Shelton hammering a backhand winner down the road {that a} flat-footed Tiafoe may solely watch to clinch the early break.

Another break at 5-2 and Tiafoe’s destiny was sealed with Shelton holding serve for the win.