Ben Shelton is known for wearing his emotions on his sleeve on the court, and the American did not shy away from celebrating after winning a tricky four-set match against Hubert Hurkacz in his second-round match at the US Open. However, when one internet troll tried to demean the Americans’ on-court energy and enthusiasm, it was Coco Gauff‘s father, Corey, who came to Shelton’s defense with a blunt reaction.
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“Shut up,” said Gauff’s father in the Instagram comments when one user wrote, “Calm down dude… this guy is way over the top with his reactions.”
Having won the match, Shelton was super animated, thumping his chest in joy and shouting “Vamos,” and “Come On” to the loud Arthur Ashe crowd. The American went to his team on the courtside and high-fived each of them, including his father, Bryan Shelton, who is his coach.
Facing someone of Hurkacz’s pedigree in the second round could easily be considered as a tough draw, and even more so given that Shelton is playing in his home Major. The Polish player has been injury-ridden for the last few years, but is a former Wimbledon semifinalist and has won hard-court Masters titles. However, it was Shelton who made the confident start, winning the first set after just one break of serve.
Shelton got the timely break in the seventh game in the second set as well, and it looked like the American was on his way to take a decisive lead in the match. However, Hurkacz fought back and broke Shelton’s serve twice to win the second set 7-5. The third set was serve-dominant, with only one break point in the entire set, and the match was in the balance in the tiebreak.
However, this is when Shelton took charge, as he took an early 4-1 lead in the tiebreak, which was enough for him to clinch the third set. The American had to save three break points in the fourth set, but found the opening in his opponent’s serve in the final game of the set, converting the one match point he got. Given how close the match was going towards a potential fifth set, Shelton’s on-court celebrations are all the more understandable.
Not to forget, there’s huge pressure on Shelton to win the title at the US Open to end the Grand Slam drought for the American men. The eighth seed himself admitted to being nervous in his opening match against Tallon Griekspoor, which reflected in the poor first set he played at the US Open. However, being the champion he is, he quickly recovered and won the match in four sets.
Having beaten one Wimbledon semifinalist in Hurkacz, Shelton will now face another former SW19 semifinalist in the next round at the US Open.
Ben Shelton Will Face Another Wimbledon Semifinalist in the Next Round at the US Open
Ben Shelton is set to take on Denis Shapovalov in the third round of the US Open, with the Canadian himself a former Wimbledon semifinalist, having reached the last four at SW19 in 2021. In Shapovalov, Shelton faces yet another former Top-10 player with a proven Grand Slam record, but is currently in poor form.
Shapovalov has a 16-17 win-loss record this season, with his only notable performance being a runner-up finish at the Los Cabos Open. Shelton, on the other hand, has won four titles this season and has been in terrific hard-court form, winning the Canadian Open before coming to New York.
The head-to-head is a comfortable 4-0 in favor of Shelton, with one of his matches against Shapovalov being controversial as the Canadian was defaulted for abusing a spectator during their Washington clash in 2024. Given that the US Open crowd will be firmly behind Shelton, Shapovalov will need to prepare himself to tackle any potential heckling he might receive during the match.
For Shelton, the chances of winning the US Open have never been higher as his nemesis, Jannik Sinner, is not in the draw, and four-time Major champion Novak Djokovic was sent packing on the first day of the tournament. Should the American win his match against Shelton and advance to the fourth round as well, a potential blockbuster clash with Carlos Alcaraz awaits the home favorite, which could be make-or-break for title ambitions.