NEW YORK — An Atlanta native will have a chance Tuesday to log a milestone at the U.S. Open that hasn't been matched by an American man in two decades.
Ben Shelton, just 20 years old, will face off with Frances Tiafoe for a spot in the tournament semifinals.
If he reaches the final four, he'd be the first men's American player at that young an age to get there since Andy Roddick in 2003 (Roddick, for what it's worth, began the tournament at age 20 and turned 21 during the course of it).
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Shelton is currently ranked No. 47 in the world, and his quarterfinal run at the U.S. Open matches an earlier run this year to the quarters of the Australian Open. In between he's had an up-and-down year, coming into the U.S. Open off early exits in Cincinnati, Toronto, D.C. and Atlanta.
He went out, in fact, in his first or second match of every tournament he entered - 10 in all - from early May's Rome Masters on.
But he found his groove in Flushing.
The 6-foot-4 player, whose dad was once the coach for Georgia Tech women's tennis team, beat the tournament's No. 4 seed, Holger Rune, in his opening match - arguably his best individual 1-on-1 win all year.
Shelton, born in Atlanta and later moving to Florida in childhood, followed it up with wins over 30-year-old Roberto Carballés Baena, 29-year-old Aslan Karatsev and the No. 14 seed in the tournament, big-serving fellow American Tommy Paul.
On Tuesday in New York, he'll face Maryland's Tiafoe, currently ranked 10th in the world. Tiafoe reached the U.S. Open semis last year as a breakout star of the tournament.
With a huge left-handed serve, Shelton won the 2022 NCAA individual men's title for the Florida Gators. The serve is his calling card, but he's also shown he can be a very agile defensive player for his size - which he'll need against the creative Tiafoe.
If Shelton can make it past that test, he'll be in territory liable to see him start drawing some of the considerable hype that came with Roddick back when he won the tournament back in 2003.
That victory by Roddick, of course, is also the last time an American man won a grand slam title of any kind. So no pressure, Ben.
There's no specific time for the Shelton-Tiafoe match, but the tournament released Monday that it will be the second night match at Arthur Ashe Stadium, following the 7 p.m. women's quarterfinal match between Sorana Cirstea and Karolina Muchova.
