US Open Day 13 - Is Ben Shelton The Guy?

Catherine Whitaker (0:10)

Hello, and welcome to The Tennis Podcast on Friday night in New York, men's semi-final Friday that is just concluded with Ben Shelton becoming the first black man to reach the US Open final since Arthur Ashe in 1972 He'll face top seed Alexander Zverev on Sunday, both of them aiming to win a first US Open title. I'm Catherine Whitaker. Alongside me as always are David Law and Matt Roberts. We've been here in New York bringing you daily shows throughout this US Open Fortnite as we do at every Grand Slam tournament. It has been quite a two weeks already, and it is going to be quite an occasion on Sunday, David, to see Ben Shelton aiming to become the first American man to win this title since Andy Roddick all the way back in 2003

David Law (1:04)

Yeah. It's a huge moment. We had one moment a couple of years ago when Taylor Fritz, as an American, was in the final as well.

He came up short against Yannick Sinner. But there's a feeling that Ben Shelton is closer than that, partly because he's playing so well and we can get into that, but also because the opposition isn't as terrifying, frankly, as Yannick Sinner has proven to be over the last few years. So it's an enormous moment. It was a huge moment inside the Arthrash Stadium tonight with Frances Tiafoe and Ben Shelton going toe to toe. Strange one for the crowd, but my word that they created an atmosphere and they had a show to be fitted.

Catherine Whitaker (1:46)

It does feel different to two years ago, doesn't it Matt? Because we were all here when Taylor Fritz reached the final and it was the same narrative aiming to be the first American man to win the title since Andy Roddick. It was only two years fewer since it happened at that point. Yet somehow this feels really different.

Matt Roberts (2:05)

It's interesting how it feels so different when you think that Yannick Sinner at the time, like Alexander Zverev, was a one-time major champion. Yet he felt like such a sure thing even then, the consistency that he put together that season and the way he made his way through this tournament being really convincing. It's very different, I think, to Alexander Zverev, who I do think goes into Sunday as the favorite, Zverev.

I think we should say that, given his record against Shelton, his record against the lefties, the fact he has won a slam, the fact he doesn't have the pressure of trying to be the first American man in so long to win a major. I think all of that is on Zverev's side in this one. But yeah, as much as Taylor Fritz was talking up himself and his pace and that matchup going into the final, I don't remember feeling like I was giving Fritz much of a chance heading into that one. Whereas I've just been so convinced by Ben Shelton in the last two rounds. And I think it's the win over Carlos Alcares really still for me that is making me feel differently about Shelton going into this one. And he's backed it up tonight with a very, very impressive performance after a bit of a slow start. And yeah, there was a moment at the end when Tiafoe climbed over the net and embraced Ben Shelton. And these guys are obviously trying to win majors for themselves, but they both know the bigger picture of American tennis that they're part of. It did feel like it was Tiafoe saying, right, go on then, Ben, you are now representing us in the final. Give it your best. And it's going to be a hell of an occasion on Sunday.

Catherine Whitaker (3:58)

4-6, 6-3, 6-3, 7-5 over Tiafoe tonight for Ben Shelton. How close was Tiafoe able to make that match? Was Shelton as good as he was against Carlos Alcaraz three nights ago? Did he need to be, David?

David Law (4:15)

In some ways, I think he was better. Now, obviously, he didn't need to be as good to beat Tiafoe as he did to beat Alcaraz, because Alcaraz is just another level all entirely. And I think that that is, by the way, another reason why Shelton feels more of a threat for this title than Fritz did, because Fritz didn't have to do that. He didn't have to get by Alcaraz to win, to get to the final. So we hadn't seen that level from him in quite the same way. He played well, don't get me wrong.

I was surprised at how flat Shelton seemed in the first set. And all credit to Tiafoe, he took advantage of that. But once Shelton had got his teeth into the match, he really accelerated away. He dominated this match. It was a decent enough flurry from Tiafoe at the end to make that third set competitive. But I was blown away by what Shelton was doing.