American fans at the US Open, and thousands watching the tournament on TV, were hit by back-to-back losses when Ben Shelton and Frances Tiafoe exited in consecutive third-round matches on Friday. While Shelton was forced to retire due to a shoulder injury, Tiafoe suffered an unexpected loss.
Shelter, the No. 6 seed, was visibly struggling with his shoulder during the fourth set of his match against Frenchman Adrian Mannarino. The American was leading and cruising towards a much-needed win before he tumbled. The 22-year-old continued playing, but the pain ultimately forced him to retire, handing his opponent a walkover.
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‘Usually I play through’
While no specifics were revealed, Shelton said, “Usually, I’ll play through anything and just kind of find a way. 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.”
“I was playing really well. I was in form, a lot of confidence,” Shelton added. “Just so many things to be happy with the way that I was playing, moving on the court, competing.”
He was one of the best hopes to give the US its first men’s major champion since Andy Roddick won the 2003 US Open. The other was Tiafoe, who was eliminated with a 6-4, 6-3, 7-6 (7) loss to German qualifier Jan-Lennard Struff.
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‘Hard to swallow’
Tiafoe was trying to become the first American man since Andre Agassi from 1994-99 to reach the fourth round of the US Open for six straight years.
“It’s going to be hard to swallow how I played today and being out of the U.S. Open, for sure, this early,” he said.
Two American men are still in the race – No. 4 Taylor Fritz, and No. 14 Tommy Paul.
