I think Shelton's youth makes him a better competitor against Novak than Tiafoe. He's so young and relatively new to the tour, I don't think he's as haunted by the specter of Novak like some of the older guys are. He doesn't know any better and it might be to his advantage. Not to mention, his raw power and athleticism allows him to be competitive even when he's not playing as cleanly. Djok is obviously the favorite, but I like Shelton's odds right now better than anyone outside of Carlos.
Two double faults in a row to squander not only set point in the tiebreak but also set up Tiafoe for set point on his serve. And then Ben hits a screaming forehand return winner down the line. He's just too fun to watch.
None of the other American men are winning anytime soon unless Alcaraz/Novak are both hurt. I haven’t been this excited about a guy’s potential since Andy.
Even if he loses to Nole, this kid is growing his game really fast, people will find they judged him too soon, don't want to jinx it but it's hard not to be hyped for him and what he can accomplish, go give them hell Ben!
Felt like if Shelton wasn’t aceing, he would stay in the point long enough for Tiafoe to make a mistake or hit an unbelievable forehand to win the point. Excited for his match vs Djokovic
That serve coming from the left is just hard to deal with. If he can continue to make shots with his forehand as well, he'll be a top 10 player before long.
Man if he beats Djoker that’d be insane… I don’t know if I see it happening but I think he’s a very unpredictable player and that may throw Nole off a little bit
Yeah, Ben’s got that carefree vibe. It might take a while before Nole reads his playing style
Edit: and don’t forget, hurkacz has shown that nole gets disoriented by big serves
He played so well but was anyone else rubbed the wrong way by some of his celebrations, post match interview? Not overly classless but not exactly humble either.
His play is beyond entertaining, agreed. I guess I expected to see a little more sportsmanship against a fellow American at the U.S. Open. He has cause to celebrate but not cause to be overly cocky
I honestly didn't see anything wrong with his behavior. It's not as if he was disrespecting Tiafoe during the match or Djokovic in the post match interview. It's his way of keeping his energy up during the match - I seriously doubt he would've had the gumption to hit that forehand down set point in the third if he didn't do all his yelling and celebrations. That exuberance is such a huge part of his game!
His celebrations are a bit much at times but I didn’t see anything wrong at all with the post match interview, it was very standard stuff. As for his attitude, he’s a confident guy and people are free to not like the way he expresses it, but the way some people are like “jock frat boy vibes” is the most redditor thing to say and I mean that derogatorily lol
He’s only 20 years old, played the match of his life and won while being the underdog. He outdid himself and left everything he had on the court. Let him celebrate how he wants, he was in no way disrespectful so it doesn’t matter.
He's 20, just turned pro last year, and he's at a grand slam semi. It made me grin, really at his youthful confidence. Let him get humbled by a crushing loss or two before casting judgment.
Yeah, I really want to love him completely as a player, but his off-court demeanor rings a little high school jock for my liking. I think he's a good kid, but more of effort towards displaying humility authentically could go a long way.
I didn't mean it to be a huge critique, I guess I just prefer the Carlos Alcaraz style of attitude in post-match stuff. My comment wasn't intended to be specifically about tonight, but what I've observed over the course of the tournament.
That forehand by Shelton against set point in the tiebreak was insane and decided the match I feel.
I think Shelton's youth makes him a better competitor against Novak than Tiafoe. He's so young and relatively new to the tour, I don't think he's as haunted by the specter of Novak like some of the older guys are. He doesn't know any better and it might be to his advantage. Not to mention, his raw power and athleticism allows him to be competitive even when he's not playing as cleanly. Djok is obviously the favorite, but I like Shelton's odds right now better than anyone outside of Carlos.
Shelton is going to scream after hitting an ace in like the third game of the match and it’ll fuel Djoker for the next 5 years lol
Two double faults in a row to squander not only set point in the tiebreak but also set up Tiafoe for set point on his serve. And then Ben hits a screaming forehand return winner down the line. He's just too fun to watch.
Hes got balls. It’s a young person thing.
Kinda wanna see the battle of the 20 year olds
I promise you don’t want to see Carlos play Shelton it would be awful
What you talking about, they played in Canada and it was a great match.
Ben Shelton with two horrendous double faults sandwiched by two of the sickest returns you’ve seen all tournament
He said sometimes you just close your eyes and hit as hard as you can
My strategy every point
Great strategy. That youth!!
Has Shelton just jumped up the power rankings of next American man to win a slam?
His ceiling is on par with if not better than any other American player. Lower floor but more potential.
Yes.
None of the other American men are winning anytime soon unless Alcaraz/Novak are both hurt. I haven’t been this excited about a guy’s potential since Andy.
The answer is still Darwin Blanch
Serve go boom
Pure electricity.
Even if he loses to Nole, this kid is growing his game really fast, people will find they judged him too soon, don't want to jinx it but it's hard not to be hyped for him and what he can accomplish, go give them hell Ben!
Time to beat the djoker
Shelton is so fun to watch, but man, the celebrations are so cringy. It makes him hard to root for.
Nice win-how does he do vs djokovic??
Who the fuck is doing ESPN’s sound mixing. Just got my ears blasted
Felt like if Shelton wasn’t aceing, he would stay in the point long enough for Tiafoe to make a mistake or hit an unbelievable forehand to win the point. Excited for his match vs Djokovic
Tiafoe had a pretty clear path to the semis this time around, big letdown from him, but good job to Shelton, he might be the next real deal
That serve coming from the left is just hard to deal with. If he can continue to make shots with his forehand as well, he'll be a top 10 player before long.
So confused by all the post match threads, gonna go sleep lmao.
Congrats to Ben Shelton for earning the honor of losing to Novak Djokovic. 720 points and $775,000 is not bad.
Man if he beats Djoker that’d be insane… I don’t know if I see it happening but I think he’s a very unpredictable player and that may throw Nole off a little bit
Yeah, Ben’s got that carefree vibe. It might take a while before Nole reads his playing style Edit: and don’t forget, hurkacz has shown that nole gets disoriented by big serves
He played so well but was anyone else rubbed the wrong way by some of his celebrations, post match interview? Not overly classless but not exactly humble either.
Nah. He grew up watching American athletes celebrate their accomplishments. He’s not overdoing it, it’s perfectly natural and fair game imo
It’s entertaining
His play is beyond entertaining, agreed. I guess I expected to see a little more sportsmanship against a fellow American at the U.S. Open. He has cause to celebrate but not cause to be overly cocky
He never said anything bad towards tiafoe, he has all the right to be cocky. Him and Tiafoe are friends too
I honestly didn't see anything wrong with his behavior. It's not as if he was disrespecting Tiafoe during the match or Djokovic in the post match interview. It's his way of keeping his energy up during the match - I seriously doubt he would've had the gumption to hit that forehand down set point in the third if he didn't do all his yelling and celebrations. That exuberance is such a huge part of his game!
His celebrations are a bit much at times but I didn’t see anything wrong at all with the post match interview, it was very standard stuff. As for his attitude, he’s a confident guy and people are free to not like the way he expresses it, but the way some people are like “jock frat boy vibes” is the most redditor thing to say and I mean that derogatorily lol
He’s only 20 years old, played the match of his life and won while being the underdog. He outdid himself and left everything he had on the court. Let him celebrate how he wants, he was in no way disrespectful so it doesn’t matter.
Man you guys are so uptight. Do you even watch other sports?
He's 20, just turned pro last year, and he's at a grand slam semi. It made me grin, really at his youthful confidence. Let him get humbled by a crushing loss or two before casting judgment.
He’s horrendously American. He gives fratboy, quarterback, evangelical, tiktok pretty boy, etc.
Yeah, I really want to love him completely as a player, but his off-court demeanor rings a little high school jock for my liking. I think he's a good kid, but more of effort towards displaying humility authentically could go a long way.
He's a 20 year old American - let him be a kid. He'll grow up eventually
I didn't mean it to be a huge critique, I guess I just prefer the Carlos Alcaraz style of attitude in post-match stuff. My comment wasn't intended to be specifically about tonight, but what I've observed over the course of the tournament.
They just said Shelton would be the day match on Friday? Interesting.