Ben Shelton puts on a show and reaches U.S. Open semifinals
Ben Shelton reacts during a match against Frances Tiafoe during the quarterfinals of the U.S. Open on Wednesday. Credit: AP/Charles Krupa
History is following Ben Shelton.
Tuesday night, he and Francis Tiafoe became the first two Black American men to face off in a Grand Slam quarterfinal in the Open era, which began in 1968.
In the wee hours of Wednesday morning, the 20-year-old became the youngest American man in the U.S. Open semifinals since 1992, managing to oust Tiafoe, last year’s crowd darling, on the way.
And on Friday, he’ll try to both thwart history and make it: A win over Novak Djokovic would put him in the final with a chance to become the first American man to win the U.S. Open since Andy Roddick did it in 2003. A loss sets the stage for Djokovic, who’s looking to win his 24th Grand Slam to match Margaret Court for most ever — one of the few records he hasn’t yet eviscerated.
And Shelton?
“I have been enjoying every minute on court, interactions with the crowds and just the tennis that's being played,” he said Wednesday. “When I look over at my box and see my friends and family over there, I get some smiles out of them or funny signals, you know, I enjoy that.”
While Shelton is an undeniably devastating athlete, there’s also a perceptible playfulness to his demeanor — one that juxtaposes nicely against Djokovic’s often stone-faced dominance. Having formerly played for the University of Florida, he went pro after competing in the 2022 Western & Southern Open and making it to the third round.
His serve is a potent weapon, and he has a tournament high 76 aces so far — a serve clocking in at 149 mph in the fourth round, also a tournament high. He’s got youth on his side — that much was evident as he tried to outlast Tiafoe in stifling heat Tuesday — though it’s hard to say how that will play against Djokovic who, despite being 36, appears to just be getting stronger.
“Novak's obviously Novak,” Tiafoe said. “He's a tough customer. We'll see how he's able to deal with that. Novak is going to make him play and make it super tough for him. We'll see what happens.”
The hometown crowd is likely to be on Shelton’s side, though that’s hardly enough to rattle Djokovic, who’s often played spoiler in his career. The crowd was on American Taylor Fritz’s side, too…before the Serbian beat him, 6-1, 6-4, 6-4 on Tuesday.
“In the heat of a moment, you know, sometimes you want to use that energy to lift yourself up, and sometimes you just want to kind of cocoon yourself and really isolate the noise and focus on breathing and focus on staying present and focusing on the next point,” Djokovic said of the crowd Tuesday. “Sometimes I want to respond, and I want to feed off that energy.”
Medvedev concerned about heat
Daniil Medvedev had strong words about the USTA's decision to play despite temperatures over 90 degrees. "One player is going to die and they're going to see," he said during his defeat of Andrey Rublev, 6-4, 6-3, 6-4 in the men's quarterfinal.
"I don't think I had anything left but if the match would go on I would find something more," he said after the match. "And the only thing that is a little bit, let's call it dangerous, is that the question is how far could we go?"
He added that he didn't know what the solution was, only that he was concerned.
"I'm [saying something] because maybe I'm going to finish my career and nothing is gonna happen and then it's fine, then I'm talking for nothing," he said. But "we don't want something to happen and then say, Oh, my God, Medvedev said this a couple of years ago."
Osaka to return
Naomi Osaka told ESPN Wednesday that she intends to return from maternity leave by playing "way more tournaments than I used to play," and will also compete in the 2024 Australian Open in search for her fifth Grand Slam title. Osaka, 25, who had a child in July, last competed in the 2022 U.S. Open and was on site to take part in a mental health panel.
"I was just thinking when I was watching Serena and Venus [Williams], I was thinking, probably no way will I ever play at their age," she said during the panel. "But sitting here, I'm like, You know what? I might do that."
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Laura Albanese is a reporter, feature writer and columnist covering local professional sports teams; she began at Newsday in 2007 as an intern.
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