Home crowd powers Shelton past Hurkacz in U.S. Open second round

Ben Shelton needed every decibel from the Arthur Ashe Stadium crowd to get through a demanding U.S. Open match against Hubert Hurkacz.

The eighth-seeded American beat Poland’s Hurkacz 6-3, 5-7, 7-6(3), 7-5 on Wednesday to reach the third round. Shelton entered New York after winning in Montreal and is pursuing an end to a 23-year drought for U.S. men at the major championships.

The match briefly looked straightforward when Hurkacz double-faulted twice to surrender his serve in the sixth game. The Pole responded in the second set, hitting 15 winners and breaking when his forehand clipped the baseline on set point.

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Super happy with the way the match went. I thought it was a battle to the end.

They traded blows through a tense third set, but Hurkacz fell behind 3-0 in the tiebreak and could not recover. In the fourth, Shelton had to save two break points in the ninth game before raising his level. He attacked Hurkacz with his forehand in the 12th game, then celebrated with both arms raised after Hurkacz sent a forehand long on match point.

“Super happy with the way the match went. I thought it was a battle to the end,” Shelton said. Straining to hear the on-court reporter over the noise, he added: “If I was commentating I would talk about how loud this crowd was from start to finish.”

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If I was commentating I would talk about how loud this crowd was from start to finish.