A 10:45 p.m. start and a three-hour fight
Ben Shelton did not walk on court until close to 10:45 p.m. in New York. He walked off it more than three hours later, into the fourth round.
The American beat Denis Shapovalov 7-6, 6-7, 6-3, 6-4 overnight at Flushing Meadows, in a match that ran deep into the early hours of Saturday. Shelton dropped serve first. He then reeled the Canadian back in, only to watch Shapovalov edge ahead again and serve for the opening set.
Shapovalov could not hold it. The tie-break went to Shelton, who raced to 5-1 and closed it seven points to three.
Four breaks that led nowhere
The second set turned into a trading floor. Shelton broke early. Shapovalov broke back when the American served for it. Shelton broke again. Shapovalov broke back again, forced a tie-break and took it seven points to five.
That was the last say the world No. 48 had in the match. Shelton made his early break stick in the third and won it 6-3. Another break at the start of the fourth settled the rest. He served it out for 6-4 after three hours and 22 minutes.
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Tsitsipas next in the last 16
Shelton, ranked ninth and seeded eighth here, keeps a perfect record against Shapovalov in their ATP meetings. Their history had never suggested a night this long.
His reward is Stefanos Tsitsipas, who came through earlier on Friday against No. 18 seed Jiri Lehecka, 2-6, 6-1, 7-6, 6-1. The Greek is unseeded in this draw after a rough season, which makes him a far more awkward last-16 opponent than his ranking suggests.
An American Friday
The night belonged to the home players. Frances Tiafoe brushed aside Valentin Vacherot 6-4, 6-2, 6-4 in the other night-session match, saving the only three break points the Monegasque created, and now faces Daniil Medvedev. Tommy Paul climbed out of a two-sets-to-one hole against Alexander Bublik to win 6-4, 3-6, 6-7, 6-1, 6-3, at one stage breaking the Kazakh four times in a row.
Paul gets Carlos Alcaraz next, which is the sort of draw that turns a career-best US Open run into a very short one. Two seeded Americans have been eliminated so far this fortnight.
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