Never mind that the 29-year-old German had just converted his first championship point with a 137mph serve. Never mind that the chair umpire had declared the match his, or that a crestfallen Ben Shelton was trudging disconsolately to the net for the handshake. Zverev passed the ball in his pocket to the opposite end and prepared to return serve. He was ready for more.

Zverev would later offer various explanations. He said he forgot the score, that he was too dialled in to register what was going on around him. He claimed the din of the crowd had drowned out the umpire’s announcement that the match was done. Tellingly, though, he also said he heard nothing.

“In that moment, I was in the zone,” Zverev, the top seed, remarked after defeating Shelton, the eighth. “I didn’t hear noise at all. I was in this kind of tunnel where I just didn’t hear anything.”

In a sense, Zverev has always been there. He has had to be. The alternative, after losing his first three major finals, would have been to heed the voices – not least, perhaps, the one inside his own head – that questioned whether he would ever become a grand slam champion. 

That debate was laid to rest when Zverev won Roland Garros this summer. But maybe the mantle of perennial contender is harder to shake off – and maybe that did Zverev a favour. He acknowledged afterwards that not knowing he was serving for the title had helped. Closing out a match from a winning position, when nerves are at their most taut and an opponent with nothing left to lose starts swinging more freely, is rarely straightforward.

Zverev knows that as well as anyone. At the 2020 US Open, in an Arthur Ashe Stadium emptied of spectators by the global pandemic, he served for the title against Austria’s Dominic Thiem only to falter two points from victory. The tears he wept afterwards set the tone for much that would follow, at least until this season. The despair of that defeat haunted him, yet it also fuelled a resolve to do better. He has been fighting ever since, and it seemed oddly appropriate that, even with the last ball of the US Open final struck, his first instinct was to keep battling.

How Ben Shelton breathed new life into the American dream

Now it is Shelton’s turn. 

Zverev’s maiden US Open title laid waste to the American dream of crowning a first homegrown men’s champion since 2003, when Andy Roddick won at Flushing Meadows. The prospect of such a drought seemed remote back then, with the exploits of Pete Sampras, Andre Agassi and Jim Courier still fresh in the memory, and the near quarter of a century since has brought much hand-wringing and angst. But in the imposing form of Shelton, there is hope.

The past fortnight has redefined Shelton’s place in the global pecking order. The former University of Florida man had twice before made a major semi-final, first at the 2023 US Open, where Novak Djokovic memorably put the phone down on him, and then at last year’s Australian Open, where Jannik Sinner defeated him in similarly decisive fashion. The impression was of a fine young player, one well worth the top-10 place he secured for the first time last summer, who nonetheless remained a work in progress. 

Shelton’s strengths – a ferocious southpaw serve, rubber-limbed athleticism, power and variety off the ground – were always clear. But so too were the deficiencies. He lacked the consistency and focus to hang with the very best from the back of the court, certainly over the long haul of a five-setter. His backhand remained relatively vulnerable. And his return game was not at the level of the best of his contemporaries, which in turn put more pressure on his serve, the bedrock of his game.

Shelton’s epic quarter-final victory over defending champion Carlos Alcaraz showed just how far he has come in addressing those shortcomings. He not only went toe-to-toe with the Spaniard from the baseline, showing hitherto unseen levels of consistency, defensive resilience and sustained quality, but also rode the contest’s momentum shifts beautifully. Shelton remained focused after dropping the opening set, weathered the inevitable Alcaraz fightback, and played with composure – and deep conviction – to recover from 5-3 down in the fifth-set tiebreaker. 

Then he did it all over again to take down his compatriot and close friend Frances Tiafoe in the last four. 

So this was no flash in the pan, even if some will highlight the absence of the injured Sinner and the fact that Alcaraz, playing his first event since hurting his wrist in mid-April, came into the tournament undercooked. Shelton’s run to the final has propelled him to a career-high ranking of fourth, and on the latest evidence that feels about right. The challenge now will be to remain there, but his ceiling looks high and, at the age of 23, his current trajectory bodes well for the years ahead. 

Why Zverev was the wrong opponent for Shelton

But as Shelton contested a major final for the first time, it was his misfortune to face an opponent singularly well-equipped to nullify his main strengths. 

Zverev, who spent his formative years sparring with his older brother Mischa, a former world No 25 who plays left-handed, is the scourge of the southpaw fraternity. The German came into the final with just one defeat in his last 45 matches against left-sided players, a statistic that underlines his mastery of the relevant patterns of play. A peerless two-handed backhand, combined with the enormous wingspan afforded by a 6ft 6in frame, enables Zverev to neutralise not only the sliced, outswinging serves to the ad court that traditionally confound right-handers, but also the line-breaking cross-court forehands favoured by Shelton and his ilk.

That reality was reflected in the numbers. While Zverev made 69% of his first serves but won a dominant 85% of those points, Shelton was unable to parlay the exceptional consistency of his first delivery into a more significant statistical advantage. The American made 71% of his first serves – well above the top-10 average of 64% – but could only break even in terms of points won, falling below the 75% average normally achieved by the elite.

No calculator was required to discern the reason for that disparity. Shelton sacrificed speed for consistency. At 119mph, his average first-serve speed was 5mph down on his semi-final win over Tiafoe, and slower than it had been at any stage since his fourth-round win over Stefanos Tsitsipas. Having produced a mighty 20 aces in his semi-final win over Tiafoe, Shelton was limited to half that number against Zverev. The occasion demanded more and yet, against an opponent more capable than most of neutralising his chief weapon, Shelton delivered less.

That was a problem, because rather than winning free points on serve, Shelton opened the door for Zverev to get into baseline exchanges in which the German was able to expose his primary weakness. Shelton’s backhand, though much improved, is at its most effective against pace, which Zverev denied him by peppering that wing with deep, high balls. As Andy Roddick pointed out, the strategy was made possible by the heavy forehands Zverev occasionally sent down the line, which deterred Shelton from running around his forehand.    

The cumulative effect was to place intolerable pressure on Shelton, who was guilty of some untimely errors as he attempted to become the first black American to win the title since Arthur Ashe in 1968. The tone was set early. In the opening game of the match, the first of four Shelton double faults over the course of the final yielded an immediate break for Zverev. The second arrived on set point, gifting Zverev the first set. For Shelton, meanwhile, chances were scarce and, when they arose, freighted with tension. He would convert just one of the break points he created. 

Even that breakthrough did not come until two hours and 49 minutes into the contest. Nonetheless, as Zverev shanked a high forehand volley to drop the third set, there was a whiff of vulnerability about the German for the first time. The home crowd finally had something tangible to get behind and Shelton, feeding off their energy, began the fourth at a lick, pouncing on a short ball to rifle a backhand winner, then exuberantly celebrating Zverev’s failure to put a second serve return back in court. 

It was a delicate moment in the contest, but Zverev has become a master of moments this season. So he was again, working his way back into the game before grinding out a long rally to secure the break. He would make only one more unforced error, completing victory in three hours and 33 minutes – an echo, oddly, of Shelton’s 3.33am finish against Alcaraz. Shelton will not have appreciated the irony. 

A complicated victory

As is often the way, the aftermath of a largely underwhelming final was chiefly about the revelation of character. For many, that is where things get complicated. 

If Zverev’s failure to notice his victory provoked bemused laughter, not least from the player himself, then his decision to approach Shelton’s team, each member of which received a handshake and a word of congratulation on a job well done, could only prompt admiration. Magnanimity comes easily in victory, of course, and it would be easy to dismiss the gesture as an attempt by Zverev to improve his optics. Yet the warmth and respect he expressed towards Shelton, whom he hailed as “an incredible person and player”, felt genuine enough.  

There was empathy, too. When he described his opponent’s run to the final as a “family affair”, Zverev, who has been coached throughout his career by his father Alexander Sr, knew whereof he spoke. It was an acknowledgement of the shaping influence that Bryan Shelton, a former pro with a career-high ranking of 52, has played in his son’s career. A tribute too to the tireless support of his mother Lisa, herself once an accomplished junior player, and his ever-present sister Emma, a former college player turned investment banker. Zverev, who spoke emotionally of his mother Irina’s strength in refusing to allow a childhood diagnosis of Type 1 diabetes to define him, appreciates the importance of family.

There was even a shoutout to Shelton’s girlfriend Trinity Rodman, the Washington Spirit forward, whom Zverev joked was usually a “lucky charm” for her partner. That drew laughter from Rodman, although not everyone saw the funny side. Social media snipers immediately declared the comment disrespectful, suggesting Zverev was mocking her. That seemed a stretch, but public scrutiny has become a way of life for the German.

Zverev has twice been accused of domestic violence, allegations he has consistently denied. Two years ago, he reached an out-of-court settlement with his former partner Brenda Patea, the mother of his child, after she claimed he had physically assaulted her. The Tiergarten district court in Berlin, where a scheduled trial was discontinued in June 2024, made plain at the time that the proceedings had been discontinued without a verdict and that the dismissal did “not constitute a finding of guilt or an admission of guilt”. 

Zverev had denied the allegations, just as he did those of Olya Sharypova, another former girlfriend, whose claims were the subject of an independent investigation commissioned by the ATP. The inquiry found insufficient evidence to substantiate Sharypova’s claims. 

In the absence of a court verdict on the allegations, people have inevitably formed their own perceptions of Zverev. Some cannot forget, others are eager to move on; many are ambivalent. In other words, he is a divisive figure. Zverev has won two of the four majors this season, and 25 of 27 matches at grand slam level. He may yet claim the year-end No 1 ranking. Yet he continues to languish at the epicentre of a moral maze.

It was never supposed to be this way.

When he won the season-ending ATP Finals in 2018, Zverev was widely seen as the man most likely to shatter the long-running cartel operated by Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic. At the time, that assumption did not seem fanciful. He had gone through Federer and Djokovic in successive rounds to win the ATP Finals, becoming only the fourth man to do so. He possessed a blunderbuss service, a sumptuous backhand, and greater speed and agility than might be expected from a man of his size. The world seemed Zverev’s to conquer.

Except, it did not quite work out like that. There were some notable victories, including seven Masters 1000 titles, a gold medal at the Tokyo Olympics, and a second ATP Finals crown. But time and again, the biggest prizes eluded him. The years came and went, and with them three losing appearances in grand slam finals. Part of the sandwich generation caught between the Big Three and the emergence of Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner, Zverev seemed destined to miss out along with the likes of Tsitsipas and Andrey Rublev.

Things came to a head last summer, when the German was defeated by Arthur Rinderknech of France in the opening round of Wimbledon. In the aftermath, he talked disconsolately of feeling empty and alone: of struggling to find joy in life, let alone tennis. Something inside was missing; something had to change.

Effecting that change has been a process. But on Sunday night in Arthur Ashe Stadium, Zverev became a multiple grand slam winner. He has made peace with the past. Whether others will follow suit, only time will tell.

The post How Alexander Zverev made peace with his past to win US Open appeared first on Love Game Tennis.

Early on Wednesday morning, after four hours and 28 minutes of electrifying theatre in Arthur Ashe Stadium, the 23-year-old American ended Carlos Alcaraz’s reign as US Open champion with a thrilling 6-7 (5-7), 6-1, 6-3, 1-6, 7-6 (10-7) quarter-final victory in which he elevated his game to new heights. 

Punctuated by a 146mph ace at 3.33am, the finest win of Shelton’s career also marked the tournament’s latest ever finish. 

Shelton has twice before reached a major semi-final, but never by going through a player of Alcaraz’s stature. While it was no surprise to see him match the Spanish second seed for firepower and athleticism, the conviction and composure he showed at the death, when Alcaraz opened up a 5-3 lead in the decisive tiebreak, have not always been apparent against the very best. Likewise the patience, rally tolerance and impressive returning that laid the foundations for the win. It was a night – and early morning – when everything came together for Shelton. 

Ben Shelton hails ‘epic match’ against Carlos Alcaraz

“That was a war, an epic match,” he said of his first success in 18 attempts against a top-three player. “I thought I was smart with how I went about my return games. I thought I made him play a lot. I thought I capitalised when he missed his spot, and didn’t worry or stress too much when he did hit his spot.

“I think for me to be able to hang in there in the rallies, have a game plan from the ground, and be able to execute that game plan and not be losing all the baseline points, also helps with the return.” 

Infamously, no US player has won a major since Andy Roddick triumphed at Flushing Meadows in 2003. Shelton’s victory sets up a meeting with Frances Tiafoe, his fellow countryman and close friend, meaning there is guaranteed to be an American presence in the final. With Alcaraz out and the injured Jannik Sinner absent, the trajectory of American men’s tennis could finally be about to change. 

Yet the wider context will have been the last thing on Shelton’s mind as he completed an unforgettable night’s work with dawn beckoning. In defeating Alcaraz for the first time in four meetings, he became only the second man in 17 attempts to get the better of the Spanish maestro in a fifth set, a distinction he shares with Matteo Berrettini, who achieved the feat at the 2022 Australian Open. 

How Alcaraz was undone after early brilliance

That statistic says everything you need to know about the ability of Alcaraz to meet the moment. But after four and a half months out with a wrist injury, perhaps the real surprise was that he remained in contention so long. The 23-year-old made his way to the last eight without dropping a set, comfortably navigating a potentially tricky opener against the experienced Roman Safiullin and a fourth-round assignment against the 20th-seeded Tommy Paul. In Shelton, however, he faced a challenge of a different order.

That much was apparent from an opener that began with the pair trading heavy blows and ended with an exchange of breaks and mistakes. Alcaraz looked to have seized the advantage when he punished a slight dropoff from Shelton at 5-5, but some wayward hitting off the forehand skewered his hopes of serving out the set. When the American gained the early edge in the ensuing tiebreak, hammering away an overhead to conclude a lung-busting, sinew-stretching rally in which both men explored the full geometry of the court, it seemed he might ride the reprieve all the way to a winning start. Instead, Alcaraz produced a trademark flurry of brilliance, producing two blazing forehand winners to bring up a set point that he converted following another display of acrobatic excellence from both men.

At that point, a familiar narrative looked to be unfolding. But for once, understandably after so long on the sidelines, Alcaraz was unable to sustain the magic. Instead, his form dropped off a cliff. The second set went by in a blizzard of unforced errors. The third was only marginally more competitive. By the fourth, Alcaraz was shooing away a cameraman before vomiting into a towel. The champion looked out on his feet.

Alcaraz ‘happy and proud’ with performance

But whatever his extended break from the game may have cost Alcaraz in terms of fluency and match fitness, his fighting spirit remains very much intact. Having fended off a break point at the start of the fourth set, the Spaniard broke for 2-0 and suddenly looked revitalised. As the clock ticked past 2.20am, he levelled the contest with a love hold. The record for the tournament’s latest finish, set by Alcaraz and Sinner in another five-set classic in the 2022 quarter-finals, was in obvious danger.

So it proved, and while Alcaraz was ultimately unable to prevail over the long haul as he had done on that occasion, it did not prevent him from congratulating Shelton with the broadest of smiles when it was all over. Despite committing 53 unforced errors and losing his grip on the trophy, he had got what he came to New York for: a return to the sport he loves, and confirmation that he is once again healthy. For now, that was enough.

“I’m just not going to be disappointed about not getting the win at the end,” said Alcaraz. “I’m just happy. I’m just proud about myself, about how I fought. After the third set, physically I was really tired. But I found a way to push myself up, and physically give extra.

“I was playing against one of the best. He is a beast. Shelton is an unbelievable player, powerful. He just managed to play really, really well in every situation, so credit to him. I leave the court happy. I leave the court with a smile, healthy, and this is what I needed.” 

What Shelton needed, as the sound of beeping garbage trucks doing their early morning rounds echoed around Arthur Ashe Stadium, was some sleep.

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Four years after claiming the greatest triumph of his career in Arthur Ashe Stadium, where he squeaked past Alexander Zverev in an angst-ridden fifth-set tiebreak to secure his only major championship, the 30-year-old Austrian bade a poignant farewell on the same stage, falling to a 6-4, 6-2, 6-2 defeat at the hands of the 13th-seeded Shelton.

The outcome, though, felt less significant than the occasion. For Thiem, who announced earlier this year that he intends to retire at October’s Vienna Open after failing to recover from a wrist injury suffered in the summer of 2021, merely making the starting line in New York was cathartic. If not for the former world No 3 himself, then certainly to the many onlookers left gobsmacked that, in his final season, he was overlooked for a wild card at both Roland Garros – where he was a finalist in 2018 and 2019 – and Wimbledon.

While Thiem was given a relatively low-key sendoff on Court Suzanne Lenglen after a second round qualifying loss in Paris, the United States Tennis Association did right by their former champion, granting him a place in the main draw and, fittingly, a final outing in one of the sport’s most historic arenas. It meant that Thiem, whose 2020 title win was played in a stadium bereft of spectators because of the coronavirus pandemic, was belatedly able to share a moment with the New York public.

“Thank you so much for all your support on all those years,” said Thiem, addressing the crowd after a lovely show of respect from Shelton, who exchanged warm words with his vanquished opponent before orchestrating the home crowd’s applause for the former champion. “It’s been 10 years since I played here the first time.

“It’s actually a really important moment for me, because I had the greatest success of my career here on this court in this weird 2020, under very strange and different circumstances. Unfortunately, I had this success without any of you. So that was of course, at one point, a really amazing moment, but on the other hand also pretty sad.

“So I’m super happy that I got the chance to play my last US Open, my last match here, on this court, and I can spend now some time here with you guys, just to say thank you to all of you and make the time up for what we have missed four years ago. So that’s a really special moment, and I’m very grateful for everybody who came and everybody who got me the chance to play here one last time.”

Thiem’s evident gratitude was in one sense a measure of his perverse treatment at the preceding two majors, yet the Austrian has learned the hard way to take nothing for granted. His injury, which came at a moment when he was rediscovering his passion for the game after struggling to come to terms with the enormity of his victory in New York, was both cruelly timed and a brutal reminder of how fragile a career can be in elite sport.

“You hate to see a guy like that, such a nice guy, great player, go through the injuries and deal with all that he’s dealt with,” said Shelton. “But I think if I learn anything from him, it’s that this is a game that is unforgiving. Things can change quick. You can be at the top of the game, and your body doesn’t hold up or some freak accident happens. Injuries happen all the time. So tennis isn’t forever.’

In many ways, Shelton was an apt author of Thiem’s final US Open chapter. For all the stylistic differences between the pair, there are also parallels. They may be at opposite ends of their respective careers, but Thiem too was once the big-hitting, hyper-athletic young buck eager to crash the party against more celebrated rivals. For Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer then, read Carlos Alcaraz, Jannik Sinner and (perhaps more contentiously) Holger Rune now. Different trio, similar challenge.

Already two places clear of the 15th-ranked Rune, Shelton is on a promising trajectory – even if his quest to defend the 720 points he earned for last year’s run to the semi-finals has been complicated by a draw that could pit him against Frances Tiafoe in the third round, followed by Djokovic. In fine fettle after skipping the Olympics to ply his trade on home soil, where he has already posted a semi-final finish in Washington and made the last eight in Cincinnati, Shelton moved smoothly through the gears against Thiem, pulling away rapidly after securing a tight opening set. How dearly he would like to follow the path trodden by Thiem four years ago.

“I feel pretty fine-tuned with the little things on the court right now,” said Shelton. “I’ve gotten a lot of match play.

“Coming into this tournament last year, I had little to no confidence, hardly any match wins. So it feels a little different being here this year. I just feel a little more at peace with my game, and I feel like I know my identity out there on the court.”

Thiem too knows what it is to have a clear sense of identity – and, until he fell victim to injury, that identity was almost invariably one of a winner. The pattern is nowhere more apparent than in his record against the big three of Nadal, Djokovic and Federer, against whom he won a collective total of 16 matches in 35 meetings. Although Thiem was unable to find a way past those players in grand slam finals, twice finishing runner-up to Nadal in Paris and losing out to Djokovic at the 2020 Australian Open, it is a tally neither Alexander Zverev, Daniil Medvedev, nor any other player born after 1990 can match. There could be no clearer evidence that his was a generational talent.

“I had really legendary matches against the best players in our era, maybe the best players in history,” said Thiem. “Each of them is really unique. I have the feeling it depends on the day, it depends on the surface, who is actually the toughest to play.

“I had matches against them where I was winning, against each of them, but I also had matches against each of them where I didn’t have any chance and where they made me look like almost a beginner. I mean, each of them is unique.”

As his monumental US Open victory demonstrated, so too is Thiem.

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Not content with shattering Ben Shelton’s US Open dreams with a 6-3, 6-2, 7-6 (7-4) victory that moved him into a 10th final at Flushing Meadows, Djokovic brought the 20-year-old American down a peg by mimicking his signature “putting down the phone” celebration. It made for an unexpectedly tense conclusion, the 6ft 4in Shelton fixing the Serb with an icy glare as they met to shake hands.

Both men played down the moment afterwards. Shelton suggested with a polite smile that he was flattered, while Djokovic grinned impishly as he explained that he liked his rival’s gesture so much he wanted to try it out himself.

“I just love Ben’s celebration,” said Djokovic. “I thought it was very original, and I copied him. I stole his celebration.”

In truth, it felt unnecessary. Shelton, who is playing his first full year as a professional, performs the move as a tribute to the American 110m hurdler Grant Holloway, a three-time world champion, who trains at the University of Florida in Gainesville, where Shelton lives. There was simply no need for Djokovic to get involved. Yet it was also a moment of pure theatre, a signal from the 36-year-old that he is not yet ready to take calls from the younger generation enquiring about the availability of his grand slam hegemony.

That Djokovic decided to mock Shelton’s trademark celebration was also a measure of just how much his opponent’s thunderclap serve, sledgehammer forehands and adrenaline-fuelled bellicosity got under his skin.

“I didn’t see it until after the match,” said Shelton, who received flak from some quarters for punctuating his quarter-final win over Frances Tiafoe with the gesture.

“You know, I don’t like when I’m on social media and I see people telling me how I can celebrate or can’t celebrate. I think if you win the match, you deserve to do whatever you want. As a kid growing up, I always learned that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, so that’s all I have to say about that.”

Ironically, as the third set demonstrated, it was Shelton who could have done with dialling things down. The magnitude of his firepower was undeniable. A 138mph second serve early in the first set drew audible gasps from the crowd; another, in the second, was timed at 143mph. Yet, as the errors mounted, the pressure he felt to overplay against one of the all-time greats was obvious. It was only when Shelton dug in from the baseline and started contesting the rallies, rather than simply trying to blow Djokovic off the court, that he began to look a credible threat.

That moment did not come until the business end of the third, when Shelton rallied to cancel out a break, held with a 145mph service winner to move to 5-4, and capitalised on some shaky forehands from Djokovic to reach set point. He will reflect ruefully on the irony that, when the big moment came, it was the Serb who came up with a mighty serve, a 124mph delivery wide to the ad court snuffing out the danger.

There was still time for a final exchange of breaks, Shelton making three unforced errors to leave Djokovic serving for it, then atoning by saving a match point before inviting the Serb to net an overhead off a high lob on break point. Inevitably, Djokovic won the ensuing tiebreak to move within one victory of equalling Margaret Court’s record of 24 grand slam titles.  

“[It was] quite a close ending to the match, with the crowd getting involved,” said Djokovic, who last made the final two years ago, when he was beaten by Daniil Medvedev. “So of course it wasn’t easy to close this match out, but I’m really glad I did in three sets. I didn’t want to take this match to a fourth set, that’s for sure. 

“Obviously, I knew that he’s got a lot of firepower. He has an amazing pop on the serve, he’s just so dynamic and very unpredictable. I just had to stay there mentally, present, calm, and focus on the game plan and what I need to do, and try to be solid from baseline. For most of the match I did and kind of made him play, made him uncomfortable.”

Shelton won the slugfest by 30 winners to 28, but in all the most meaningful metrics he was second best, creating just six break points to the Serb’s 14, converting two to Djokovic’s five, and making 43 unforced errors, 18 more than his opponent.

Shelton made the highlight reels; Djokovic made the final of all four majors in the same season for the third time in his career.

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With a 6-1, 6-4, 6-4 victory over Taylor Fritz of the US, Djokovic moved into the 47th grand slam semi-final of his career at the US Open, eclipsing a record he previously shared with Roger Federer. 

Should the 36-year-old defeat Ben Shelton of the US, a player at the opposite end of the spectrum in terms of age and experience, another historic milestone will hove into view: the chance to win a 24th grand slam title and equal Margaret Court’s all-time record. 

Shelton, a 20-year-old Atlantan ranked 47 in the world and playing his first full season on the ATP Tour, defeated Frances Tiafoe, the 10th seed, 6-2, 3-6, 7-6 (9-7), 6-2.

It has been a remarkable debut campaign for Shelton, who only used his passport for the first time at the turn of the year, but made his first trip abroad a memorable one by reaching the Australian Open quarter-finals. Shelton has now won 50% of his grand slam outings, an outstanding statistic for such a young player, even if the sample size is limited to 20 matches. Naturally, though, that achievement pales into insignificance in comparison with Djokovic, who has won an extraordinary 88.21% of his 407 outings at the majors. 

“Obviously, it’s a huge opportunity every single time I step out on the court at this age, at this stage of my life,” said Djokovic. “I don’t know how many more opportunities I’ll get, so I am trying to enjoy it as much as I possibly can.”

Djokovic’s enjoyment inevitably came at the expense of his opponent’s misery. Fritz’s progress to the last eight could hardly have been more emphatic – four straight-set wins, 49 out of 50 service games won – but it quickly became clear that an afternoon of intense heat and humidity would follow a wearyingly familiar pattern for the Californian. Fritz was broken in each of his first two service games and, while the rallies were competitive, the score-line quickly became lopsided. 

Struggling with his serve and his consistency, Fritz made 51 unforced errors, over-pressing from the baseline as he sought in vain to avert an eighth successive defeat to Djokovic. By the end, the Serb’s chief source of consternation was an overexcited fan who distracted him as he was broken while leading 4-3 in the third set. No lasting damage was done, however, Fritz immediately relinquishing another break with a flurry of errors before Djokovic closed out the win in two hours and 35 minutes.

“Obviously, Novak being Novak, he’ll make me feel like I’m serving worse than I am,” said Fritz. “But in other matches I wouldn’t get as punished for missing so many first serves, I can maybe get away with it. With him, I have to serve better than 50%, and I have to hit my spots better. That’s just how it is.”

Shelton, whose 149mph serves and huge forehands have been the toast of the town these past 10 days, would do well to take heed. The charismatic southpaw had service problems of his own in the third-set tiebreak against Tiafoe, double-faulting twice in a row to gift Tiafoe the initiative. Shelton’s response to the danger, as the man he has likened to a brother held a set point at 7-6, was straight out of the Djokovic playbook. The youngster ripped a blazing forehand return winner, just as the Serb famously did twice to save match points against Roger Federer in US Open semi-finals, and never looked back.

“It’s one of my biggest weapons, my serve,” said Shelton. “So to lose two points the way I did was unfortunate and frustrated me. Down set point, I needed to let a little bit of that frustration out and kind of just let it go. I had been all set so uptight about things.

“There was just so much stress. I kind of needed a release and it ended up working out for me.”

Djokovic, who said beforehand he was looking forward to watching the all-American showdown, will no doubt have been suitably impressed. He is alive to the danger that lies ahead on Friday.  

“Ben Shelton has been serving some bombs this tournament,” said the Serb. “When his serve is on, he’s a very difficult player to play against, especially because he’s a lefty as well.”

With more history beckoning, you sense he will be ready.

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