American men's tennis suffered a double blow at the US Open on Friday as Ben Shelton and Frances Tiafoe were eliminated within an hour of each other. Shelton, the No 6 seed, was forced to retire from his third-round match against Adrian Mannarino due to a shoulder injury, while Tiafoe lost to German qualifier Jan-Lennard Struff in straight sets.
Shelton, 22, was leading two sets to one when he landed heavily on his left arm while stretching for a ball. He told his father and coach, Bryan, 'I did something to my shoulder. I don’t know what it is.' Despite a mid-set physio visit and a tactical switch, he could not continue and retired after the fourth set. It was his first career retirement. 'I’ve never retired before. I’m not a guy who would retire if I could continue,' he said.
Mannarino, ranked 77th, advanced 3-6, 6-3, 4-6, 6-4, ret., earning his first win over a top-10 opponent at a major. He will face Jiri Lehecka for a place in the quarter-finals. Shelton left the court with his shoulder wrapped in ice, fighting back tears, but struck a philosophical tone: 'I was playing really well, I was in form, a lot of confidence … but I’ve got a lot to be grateful for.'
Shortly after, Tiafoe, the 17th seed, fell to Struff 6-4, 6-3, 7-6 (9) on the Grandstand court. The 35-year-old German struck 14 aces and never allowed Tiafoe to find rhythm. 'I played extremely passive today. I didn’t put any pressure on him at all,' Tiafoe said. 'It’s going to be hard to swallow how I played today and being out of the US Open this early.'
The exits leave only Taylor Fritz and Tommy Paul as the remaining American men in the singles draw. Andy Roddick’s 2003 triumph remains the most recent men's major title for the United States, and the odds of ending that drought this year have narrowed considerably.
