NEW YORK – There is guaranteed to be at least one American man in the U.S. Open semifinals for the second year in a row. That’s because No. 10 Frances Tiafoe, who got to that stage 12 months ago, and unseeded Ben Shelton set up a quarterfinal meeting with wins Sunday.
A third man from the U.S. had a chance to advance later, when No. 9 Taylor Fritz took on Dominic Stricker of Switzerland.
Tiafoe, the Maryland native, eliminated Australian wild-card entry Rinky Hijikata 6-4, 6-1, 6-4.
The 20-year-old Shelton hit a pair of aces at 149 mph — the fastest by anyone all tournament — in a single game and earned a debut trip to the quarterfinals at Flushing Meadows by eliminating No. 14 Tommy Paul 6-4, 6-3, 4-6, 6-4.
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When the match ended, the muscle-shirt-wearing Shelton flexed his left biceps while standing under the section of seats where his father, a former touring pro who now coaches Ben, mother and sister were.
“Straight adrenaline,” Shelton said about those big lefty serves.
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