The all-American rematch is set. One year after squaring off in the U.S. Open quarterfinals, Ben Shelton and Frances Tiafoe–arguably the two biggest names in American men’s tennis–will meet again on Friday, this time in the third round.
Neither player had any trouble advancing on Wednesday. Shelton cruised past Roberto Bautista Agut 6-3, 6-4, 6-4, while Tiafoe led Alexander Shevchenko 6-4, 6-1, 1-0 when the Russian retired.
Thus a friendly rivalry will add another chapter, again–without a doubt–in Arthur Ashe Stadium.
“I definitely want to play against him,” Tiafoe said before Shelton advanced through round two. “Obviously he’s very much like me in how excited and energetic he is on the court and has such a big game and big shots and serves big and gets the crowd going. He’s 21 years old. He’s young, funny, cracks jokes–just about as immature as I am. We always have fun joking around and cracking jokes, for sure.”
Of course, friendship will be set aside on Friday. Tiafoe, who lost last summer’s showdown 6-2, 3-6, 7-6(7), 6-2, doesn’t want to fall behind 3-0 in the head-to-head series (he also succumbed to Shelton in the 2024 Houston final). Shelton, ranked 13th in the world, has semifinal points to defend as he tries to continue his climb toward the top 10.
“I am really looking forward to it,” Shelton assured. “We had a great battle in the quarters last year and I am sure it will be another popcorn match.”
[yop_poll id=”1484″]
here we go
Foe in five . I’ve been backing Shelton all year without much
He’s a big serve not much else
Talk about pick it. Both look good in Flushing. Shelton in 5.