Ben Shelton battled past Ugo Humbert to make it four American men in the DC quarterfinals.
It was a shaky start to the week for the American men at the DC Open. Expectations were high after a lot of forward progress on the grass, where seven Americans reached the third round. Back on the right side of the pond, this is the time for players born and raised in the US to shine, but things got off to an inauspicious start as three highly touted players – Frances Tiafoe, Tommy Paul and Learner Tien – fell in the first round.
Three days later and things look a lot better.
Taylor Fritz has looked like a Top 5 player through two rounds, playing with boldness and clarity on his way to the quarterfinals, and Ben Shelton followed suit with an extremely gritty 6-7(3), 6-3, 6-4 win over Ugo Humbert on Thursday night at Rock Creek Park in the nation’s capital.
It would have been an easy match to lose against the determined Frenchman, who was playing his typically unpredictable and explosive brand of tennis. But Shelton rode the vicissitudes like a savvy veteran and hit all the high notes in a wildly entertaining match to book a quarterfinal clash with Alejandro Tabilo.
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Shelton struck a 151 MPH serve, hit some crazy passing shots and threw in a front-facing tweener (though he lost the point) to keep the fans entertained. Showtime it was, but more than that it was a chance for Shelton to dig in and compete and show off his competitive fire.
From a set down, in a third set that saw him squander a break with a double-fault, he never cowered. He took the fight to Humbert and basically refused to lose.
“It was a great match to be a part of, but for me, I’ve had some special nights here in D.C. This one was certainly up there,” Shelton said.
Two other American men – Alex Michelsen and Brandon Nakashima – are also into the last eight in DC. Michelsen took out 38-year-old Adrian Mannarino on Wednesday night to book a showdown with Fritz, who is seeded third.
The biggest surprise came today when Brandon Nakashima got the better of seventh-seeded Jakub Mensik 7-6(5), 3-6, 6-4 to set a quarterfinal with top-seeded defending champion Alex de Minaur.
Nakashima, now coached by Wayne Ferreira, the highly respected former coach of Frances Tiafoe, just might become a Top 20 player under the South African’s tutelage. Ferreira, a former Top 10 player himself, is well-known for taking Tiafoe into the Top 10 during their time together. Nakashima doesn’t have the flair or the finesse of Tiafoe, but he has a punishing serve and a linear, relentless ground game that is tough for top players to contend with.
Ranked 33, just four spots shy of his career-high No.29, Nakashima appears to have room to run. He needs to play with clarity and confidence and not back away from the big moments. Defeating Mensik, a rising 20-year-old who reached the semifinals at Roland Garros, is a nice step.
A week that started on shaky ground for the American men now has the chance to be a fine kick-off to the North American hard court swing. Stay tuned – the quarterfinals start tomorrow.
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Chris Oddo. Chris Oddo is a freelance sportswriter, podcaster, blogger and social media marker who is a lead contributor to Tennisnow.com. He also writes for USOpen.org, Rolandgarros.com, BNPParibasOpen.com, TennisTV.com, WTAtennis.com and the official US Open program.