New York, Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic and 23 years of drought. All these elements converge this Sunday in Ben Shelton’s destiny.
The American will play his first Grand Slam final in a city that has played a defining role in his career. At the 2023 US Open, aged just 20, he burst onto the scene by reaching the semi-finals of the tournament. Now, three years later, he will have the chance on that same court to end the 23-year wait for an American man to win a Grand Slam title. Only Alexander Zverev stands in his way.
The curious thing is that three years ago, it was Novak Djokovic who shattered his dreams after a controversial finish. Now, the Serbian’s nemesis, Rafael Nadal, appears to have given him the key to dreaming of the title.
After winning the Canadian Masters 1000, the left-hander was knocked out in the first round in Cincinnati. It was then that the Spaniard gave some advice to Bryan Shelton, Ben’s father and coach.
“After winning Montreal, we said that the first round in Cincinnati was going to be his toughest day, because not many people manage to bounce back from winning a title like that and have a good tournament the following week. After he lost, I spoke to Rafa and he told me, ‘You have to be able to get through that first match, have the day off and then come back and play your best tennis the following week,’” he said after his son reached the final.
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That was the philosophy they used to recover from the emotional shock of beating Carlos Alcaraz in the quarter-finals.
“I spoke to him about how important it would be to understand that the semi-final [against Frances Tiafoe] was going to be even tougher, precisely because he had to recover from the previous match. A lot of people would have wanted to celebrate, but you have to consolidate your success. Hopefully, we can celebrate a little next week,” added the 60-year-old former tennis player.
2023, the year of the “call”
Not being able to recover from that success was perhaps one of the factors that tipped the balance in Novak Djokovic’s favour in the 2023 semi-finals.
That year, Shelton defeated Frances Tiafoe, then world No. 10, in the quarter-finals, but had no answers against Novak Djokovic. He lost in straight sets, and the Serb went on to win what remains his most recent Grand Slam title.
But beyond the result, that day was marked by Djokovic’s provocative celebration. Shelton had been celebrating his victories by mimicking a phone call, and after beating him, Nole returned the gesture.
Initially, the former world No. 1 said he had done it because he found the celebration original, but months later he revealed the real reason.
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“He did not behave appropriately or respectfully, either on court or before the match. I would never mock someone if they hadn’t done something first. If someone behaves in an unsportsmanlike way, I react,” he admitted in an interview with L’Équipe.
After that semi-final, Shelton did not return to the last four until the 2025 Australian Open, the same year he won his first Masters 1000 title in Canada.
The Great Drought
Twenty-three years have passed since Andy Roddick won the 2003 US Open, and nobody at the time could have imagined that the country with the most Grand Slam titles would have to wait more than two decades to celebrate another men’s champion.
That weight now falls on Ben Shelton, just the fourth American to reach a Grand Slam final since 2004: Roddick (Wimbledon 2004, 2005 and 2009, and US Open 2006), Andre Agassi (US Open 2005), Taylor Fritz (US Open 2024) and now the new world No. 4 are the names on that list.
The figure of six lost finals in 23 years contrasts with American dominance before 2003. From 1980 to that year, eight Americans accumulated 37 Grand Slam singles titles.
What happened in 2004? The emergence of Roger Federer at the top. The Swiss, later joined by Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic, were largely responsible.
If Shelton wins, he would not only end the longest drought in American tennis history, but also become the third player born after 2000 to win a Grand Slam.
A title would establish him as the third most important name of a generation dominated by Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz. A position he has been chasing since 2023, when the world stopped to watch him in New York.
