ATP Tour

Shelton turns up heat on Fritz for No. 1 American mantle

Ben Shelton continues to turn up the heat on countryman Taylor Fritz in his quest to become the No. 1 American player before the US Open is done.

Already at a career-high No. 5 in the PIF ATP Live Rankings, Shelton moved to within 95 points of No. 4 Fritz in the PIF ATP Live Race to Turin with a 6-4, 6-2, 6-4 win over Spaniard Pablo Carreno Busta Wednesday night inside Louis Armstrong Stadium.

"I feel like I played well and I was happy with how I played the big points," Shelton said. "It was an electric atmosphere. This is the one tournament that is all about the fans and their energy and passion for the sport."

Shelton, who next faces wily French veteran Adrian Mannarino in the third round, is seeded to meet 2022 champion Carlos Alcaraz in the quarter-finals.

A 2002 US Open semi-finalist, Shelton moved into contention to challenge for the mantle of American No. 1 by winning the ATP Masters 1000 title in Toronto earlier this month and in the knowledge that Fritz would drop his 1300 points by reaching the final last year at Flushing Meadows.

Shelton has been large and in charge through the opening two rounds. He clipped 35 winners and saved all five break points in his opener against Peru's Ignacio Buse. Against former World No. 10 Carreno Busta, Shelton drilled 42 winners, including a crosscourt backhand passing shot on match point.

Earlier in the day, Fritz underlined his 2025 US Open credentials by passing a stern second-round test on Wednesday in New York.

Fritz hung tough in the face of a fast start by Lloyd Harris before powering to a 4-6, 7-6(3), 6-2, 6-4 victory. A finalist last year at the hard-court major and the current leading American in the PIF ATP Rankings, World No. 4 Fritz took control of his encounter with Harris after crucially clinching the second-set tie-break inside Louis Armstrong Stadium.

TAYLOR 🗣️ FRITZ 🗣️@Taylor_Fritz97 fights back to win in 4 sets against Harris and secure his spot into R3!@usopen | #USOpen pic.twitter.com/gEmQ3tCbgM

— ATP Tour (@atptour) August 27, 2025

Fritz fired 54 winners, including 17 aces, to improve to 2-1 in his Lexus ATP Head2Head series with Harris. Both the pair’s previous tour-level meetings took place in 2020, and the 2025 incarnation of Fritz ultimately proved too strong for the South African qualifier.

Now 40-15 for the season, according to the Infosys ATP Win/Loss Index, Fritz will take on another qualifier in the third round in Jerome Kym. The Swiss 22-year-old will be aiming to upset a higher-ranked American for the third consecutive match: He ousted Ethan Quinn in the opening round and then on Wednesday edged 30th seed Brandon Nakashima 4-6, 7-6(2), 7-5, 3-6, 7-6(10-8).

The man Fritz defeated in the 2024 semi-finals, Frances Tiafoe, was also pushed to four sets in his second-round match. The 17th-seeded Tiafoe overcame qualifier Martin Damm 6-4, 7-5, 6-7(8), 7-5 to improve to 14-0 against players ranked outside the Top 50 at the US Open.

Now 24-10 at the US Open, Tiafoe will take on 11th seed Holger Rune or Jan-Lennard Struff for a fourth-round spot in New York. The charismatic American is battling to remain a Top 20 player this fortnight: With last year’s semi-final points having dropped off, Tiafoe is currently down 12 spots to No. 29 in the PIF ATP Live Rankings.