Former Florida tennis standout [autotag]Ben Shelton[/autotag] continued his magical run at the 2023 U.S. Open held in Flushing, New York, on Tuesday with a quarterfinal win over fellow American, Frances Tiafoe. The 20-year-old Gator outlasted his opponent, 6-2, 3-6, 7-6 (9-7), 6-2, to become the youngest American man in the U.S. Open semifinals since Michael Chang in 1992.
Tiafoe seemed to have early jitters playing such a hyped-up match despite being the higher-seeded and more experienced player; Shelton, on the other hand, had the benefit of lower expectations against his 25-year-old opponent. The former finished with 14 aces but 11 double faults in a back-and-forth match that featured big hits and equally big misses while the latter’s serve started to waver as the game wore on.
Nonetheless, the 2022 NCAA champion outlasted his fellow countryman and earned a trip to the next round. In the semifinals, the great Novak Djokovic who is seeded second in the tournament awaits the young up-and-comer.
In the meantime, take a look below at highlights from Shelton’s U.S. Open quarterfinals win on Tuesday.