It was a tough afternoon for the American males on the U.S. Open.
With tears in his eyes, No. 6 Ben Shelton eliminated himself from Friday’s third-round match towards France’s Adrian Mannarino with a shoulder harm, bringing a sudden finish to the 22-year-old’s run at Flushing Meadows.
About an hour later, No. 17 Frances Tiafoe suffered an upset loss to Germany’s Jan-Lennard Struff in straight units.
Shelton retired from the motion after dropping the fourth set towards Mannarino at Louis Armstrong Stadium. The match would have gone to a decisive fifth set had Shelton been capable of proceed.
As an alternative, Mannarino received, 3-6, 6-3, 4-6, 6-4, ret., to advance to the fourth spherical.
“Usually I’ll play through anything and just kind of find a way,” Shelton stated. “And whether it’s sickness or injury, like, if I can stay out there, I can stay out there. I never felt anything like this before.”
Shelton stated he “can’t pinpoint” when he obtained harm however that he didn’t have an harm going into the match.
The third set ended with Shelton delivering a diving shot from the nook and touchdown on his left arm. The left-handed Shelton was then heard within the fourth set telling the coach’s field, “I did something to my shoulder. I don’t know what it is.”
Ben Shelton is out of the U.S. Open after injuring his shoulder throughout Friday’s match. (AP Photograph/Kirsty Wigglesworth)
After that fourth set, a seated Shelton rubbed his eyes, then rapidly embraced Mannarino earlier than strolling off of the courtroom with a towel over his head.
It’s the primary time in 178 profession matches that Shelton needed to retire.
“I was just trying to adjust and figure out whatever I can to keep competing,” Shelton stated. “Even though I was in pain, I was just kind of in that competitive mindset of trying to find a way and push through it.”
Shelton is within the midst of the very best season of his profession, advancing to the semifinals on the Australian Open, the fourth spherical on the French Open and the quarterfinals at Wimbledon. He made it to the U.S. Open semifinal in 2023.
Tiafoe, in the meantime, misplaced 6-4, 6-3, 7-6 to Struff, the world’s 144th-ranked males’s participant, on the Grandstand courtroom. It was a disappointing end for Tiafoe, who made it to the Open semifinal final yr.
“I just thought Grandstand was super quick today, and having to have rallies was very, very tough. I was late on a lot of balls, just scrubbing them to be on offense, and he was dictating play most of the time,” Tiafoe stated.
“The match was always kind of on his racquet. I had a little window there when he just gave me some gifts. I didn’t take it. But I played extremely passive today. I didn’t put any pressure on him at all.”
An American man has not received the U.S. Open — or any Grand Slam, for that matter — since Andy Roddick claimed the crown at Flushing Meadows in 2003. Ending that drought turns into harder with out Shelton and Tiafoe, who held two of the 4 highest seeds amongst U.S. males.
“This is my favorite tournament,” Shelton stated final week. “I think that we’ve got a lot of guys … who can make deep runs here and play against the best players in the world. I think that it’s a matter of time for us.”
Initially Printed: August 29, 2025 at 6:20 PM EDT
