Ben Shelton fought back from a set down to beat Tallon Griekspoor 1-6, 6-1, 7-6(3), 6-2 in the first round of the U.S. Open on Monday.
Eighth seed Shelton is vying to become the first American to win the title at Flushing Meadows since 2003 and enters the tournament after winning the Canadian Open.
The first round win, however, was far from straightforward.
“I started off a little bit nervous tonight, but I found my rhythm at some point through the second set,” said Shelton, who is still hunting a first Grand Slam title.
“Obviously, a lot of credit to Tallon, he’s a good player to play, he doesn’t give you a lot of rhythm. He has an attacking game style and I found things really difficult for the first set tonight.”
POV: You’re trying to return Ben Shelton’s serve 💨 pic.twitter.com/TRzfusTiR8
— US Open Tennis (@usopen) September 1, 2026
Shelton endured a nightmarish first set, committing 14 unforced errors, including two double faults, and holding serve just once as Griekspoor raced throught to a lead in less than half an hour.
Shelton then found his range, sharpened his serve and broke three times to level the match. The third set went into tiebreaks but the American kept his nerve to take the lead after which there was no looking back.
He will face Poland’s Hubert Hurkacz in the second round.
Canadian third seed Felix Auger-Aliassime also advanced, defeating Australia’s Rinky Hijikata 7-5, 4-6, 6-3, 7-5.
– Inputs from Reuters
Published on Sep 01, 2026