Round 2: Ben Shelton vs. Dominic Thiem
Grandstand — Day Session — Third Match
- Wednesday's day session finale in Louis Armstrong Stadium sees a former US Open champion face a fast-rising star. This popcorn match between two big hitters has the potential to be an all-time classic: 2020 men's singles winner Thiem is rounding into resurgent form at just the right time, while rising star Shelton, who blitzed his way to the Australian Open quarterfinals in his debut in January, is in hopes of capturing the same energy at his home major.
- Thiem beat the No. 25 seed, Alexander Bublik of Kazakhstan, in straight sets in Round 1, while Shelton came from a set down to topple Argentina's Pedro Cachin in four. The win in Grandstand for Thiem was his first at a major since the 2021 Australian Open, while Shelton sealed his first of what he hopes will be many US Open wins on Court 10.
- In his post-match press conference on Monday, Thiem had kind words for the 20-year-old American when he was asked to preview their upcoming encounter: "I'm looking forward a lot to that match. He's a great guy," Thiem said. "He's unbelievable athlete. I really love to watch him. I guess that one big thing gonna be the return again. He's serving incredible."
- The pair have played once previously, on clay this spring. Thiem was a 6-2, 6-2 winner over Shelton in Estoril, Portugal (Shelton's first-ever tournament on red clay), but admitted that on this surface, their matchup would be "completely different."
- Opportunity knocks next for the winner of this match. No. 4 seed Holger Rune should have potentially been looming for either Shelton or Thiem next, but after the Dane was upset by Roberto Carballes Baena in Round 1, he or Aslan Karatsev await.
