Frances Tiafoe and Ben Shelton have a huge opportunity here with the pair facing off for a spot in the semi finals. Tiafoe will be looking to match his run from last year while Shelton will be looking for his first slam semi final at just the fifth time of asking. The winner of this one will be expected to play Novak Djokovic for a spot in the final, in what would be a huge moment under the New York lights.
Shelton has been delivering on the big stage once again and the improvement in his peak level was shown by his win against Tommy Paul. Having lost 3-1 in sets to his fellow American in Australia, he managed to reverse that here with a 6-4 6-3 4-6 6-4 win to move on. Shelton’s serve has helped him a lot here with another 16 aces helping him extend his lead in the aces table. He has also been recorded at 149mph, just shy of Andy Roddick’s record here.
Tiafoe has been dealing with the rising expectations well here, dropping just one set on his way to the quarter finals. As expected, he eased past Rinky Hijikata in the last round – taking the match 6-4 6-1 6-4. He may have expected to remain a Top 10 player if he could defend his semi final points but the rise of Alexander Zverev has put those hopes in doubt. “When I broke in the first I really took off,” Tiafoe said. “I got a little sloppy at the end but happy to be through and happy to be in the quarter-finals.”
Shelton is playing with a lot of freedom right now and there shouldn’t be too much pressure on him, even as a home player in a big match like this. Neither man should shy away but Tiafoe’s experience should help him keep calmer as the match goes on. The 10th seed can definitely do a decent job of withstanding the Shelton serve – which is the key to whether this match is competitive on the younger American’s side.
Prediction – Frances Tiafoe in four sets
