NEW YORK (AP) \u2014 Ben Shelton had just acrobatically taken the third set of his U.S. Open third-round match, getting up from a tumble to the court during the point and then throwing his left arm into the air to encourage cheers after he won it.<\/p>\n
Just minutes later, he began feeling pain that would ultimately force him to stop playing during a match for the first time in his career. <\/p>\n
The No. 6-seeded Shelton quit after losing the fourth set Friday against Adrian Mannarino because of a left shoulder injury, and No. 17 Frances Tiafoe lost shortly after to leave just two U.S. men remaining of the 23<\/a> who began the tournament.<\/p>\n Speaking quietly and without many specifics, Shelton said he couldn\u2019t pinpoint what caused the injury or what it was. He had never stopped in 178 professional matches.<\/p>\n \u201cUsually, I\u2019ll play through anything and just kind of find a way,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd whether it\u2019s sickness or injury, like, if I can stay out there, I can stay out there. I never felt anything like this before.\u201d<\/p>\n Shelton landed on his left arm after lunging to track down a ball in the corner on the final point to win the third set. Early in the fourth, the 2023 U.S. Open semifinalist began wincing and said to his coach\u2019s box: \u201cI did something to my shoulder. I don\u2019t know what it is.\u201d<\/p>\n He received treatment in the middle of the set, where the trainer rubbed some cream on his left shoulder, and tried to shorten the points afterward by consistently attacking the net. But after Mannarino won the set, Shelton was visited again by the trainer and called off the match, leaving the court with a towel over his head and tears in his eyes.<\/p>\n Mannarino, a 37-year-old from France, ended up with his first victory in 23 career against matches against top-10 players in Grand Slam tournaments. <\/p>\n \u201cWhen he started to have pain, he was leading in the match,\u201d Mannarino said. \u201cHonestly, he would have probably won that match.\u201d<\/p>\n Shelton was certainly a heavy favorite in it after coming in with a 14-2 record this summer on hard courts and winning the title in Toronto, where he routed Mannarino early in the tournament.<\/p>\n \u201cI was playing really well. I was in form, a lot of confidence,\u201d Shelton said. \u201cJust so many things to be happy with the way that I was playing, moving on the court, competing.\u201d<\/p>\n He was one of the best hopes to give the U.S. its first men\u2019s major champion since Andy Roddick won the 2003 U.S. Open. So was Tiafoe, who had reached the semifinals in Flushing Meadows in two of the previous three years. He was eliminated with a 6-4, 6-3, 7-6 (7) loss to German qualifier Jan-Lennard Struff.<\/p>\n Tiafoe was trying to become the first American man since Andre Agassi from 1994-99 to reach the fourth round of the U.S. Open for six straight years.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s going to be hard to swallow how I played today and being out of the U.S. Open, for sure, this early,\u201d Tiafoe said.<\/p>\n