Ben Shelton held his nerve through a three-hour, 22-minute battle against Denis Shapovalov to reach the US Open fourth round in the early hours of Saturday, while Frances Tiafoe continued his impressive campaign to set up a high-profile meeting with 2021 champion Daniil Medvedev.
NEW YORK — Ben Shelton held his nerve through a three-hour, 22-minute battle against Denis Shapovalov to reach the US Open fourth round in the early hours of Saturday, while Frances Tiafoe continued his impressive campaign to set up a high-profile meeting with 2021 champion Daniil Medvedev.
Shelton prevailed 7-6(3), 6-7(5), 6-2, 6-4 in a contest that stretched until 2:08 a.m. local time. The 23-year-old American was twice unable to serve out the second set, allowing Shapovalov to recover before claiming the tiebreak and levelling the match.
That setback did little to unsettle Shelton. He returned with greater aggression in the third set and took advantage when the Canadian’s level dipped. A sharply struck return winner that clipped the line helped Shelton break early in the fourth, and he maintained the advantage to close out the contest.
The victory extended Shelton’s dominance over Shapovalov to 5-0 in their Lexus ATP Head2Head rivalry. His reward is a fourth-round clash with Stefanos Tsitsipas.
The former world No. 3 continued his own resurgence by defeating 18th seed Jiri Lehecka 2-6, 6-1, 7-6(3), 6-1. Tsitsipas, a two-time Grand Slam finalist, had earlier eliminated 10th seed Arthur Fils and has now reached the US Open fourth round for the first time in nine appearances at the tournament.
Meanwhile, Tiafoe powered past Valentin Vacherot 6-4, 6-2, 6-4 in 1 hour and 59 minutes under the lights at Louis Armstrong Stadium.
The 11th seed produced a highly efficient display, firing 30 winners against just 13 unforced errors and winning 85 per cent of his first-serve points. The result marked his sixth trip to the US Open fourth round and his 40th tour-level victory of the season.
Tiafoe has now joined Alexander Zverev and Jannik Sinner as the only players with at least 40 tour-level wins in 2026.
Standing between Tiafoe and another deep run in New York is a familiar opponent. Medvedev, a US Open champion and former finalist, defeated Arthur Rinderknech 6-4, 6-4, 6-4 earlier Friday to reach the fourth round without dropping a set.
Medvedev has reached this stage in seven of his last eight US Open appearances and holds a 6-1 career record against Tiafoe. Their most recent meeting came in Brisbane in January, when the Russian prevailed. Tiafoe, a semifinalist in New York in 2022 and 2024, will now look to overturn that head-to-head record and continue his bid for another deep run at his home Grand Slam.