Ben Shelton and Frances Tiafoe were producing some excellent rallies right from the get-go of their third-round matchup at the US Open 2024. While there was one particular rally from the first set that mesmerized tennis enthusiasts, Shelton further displayed his brilliance with an impressive shot to win the first game of the subsequent set.
The 21-year-old had a phenomenal start to his service game, winning the first three points in a row. However, it initially did seem like Tiafoe wasn’t going to allow his compatriot to win the game without giving a fight. While facing three game points, the older of the two Americans hit a beautiful lob shot over Shelton… or that’s what he thought.
The former Florida Gator jumped around, facing backwards, and hit a backhanded jumping volley. The US Open 2023 semifinalist somehow managed to land the shot in, finding an extremely difficult angle for the Big Foe to return.
What was better, the shot or the reaction?
Ben Shelton is feeling himself on Ashe today! pic.twitter.com/r1nCM6Jq23
— US Open Tennis (@usopen) August 30, 2024
Apart from captivating enthusiasts and pundits like Christopher Clarey, Shelton’s shot was eerily similar to the one which Rafael Nadal played on many occasions with incredible success.
During the Madrid Open 2017, in the semifinals against Novak Djokovic, Nadal hit a similar shot as Shelton did on Friday. In a similar situation – his first serving game of the second set – as Shelton, Djokovic thought he cleared the ball over his opponent with a beautiful lob.
However, the King of Clay tracked the ball down and responded with an outrageous overhead jumping backhand winner.
Nadal would proceed to defeat the Serb in straight sets. Similarly, the current World No.13 will hope for a similar result against Tiafoe.
During the time of writing this report, both the players were tied 1-1 after Tiafoe stole the second set from Shelton, 7-5. From what the first hour of the contest showed, tennis enthusiasts were in for a long, grueling, and entertaining encounter between arguably two of the best showmen on the tour.
