Brrring brrring. The semifinals are calling. Ben Shelton’s on-the-phone hand gesture—the cooler, younger sibling to the fist bump—has been picked up by his doubles partner, Taylor Townsend. The two Americans have had an answer for all three pairings they’ve met in the mixed doubles draw, taking out the No. 4 seeds last week and No. 7 seeds Monday, 6-4, 6-2, at the US Open.
Let us not forget that they’re both left-handed, which adds a rare layer of unpredictability to their game, while their unseeded status is the cherry-on-top.
On their journey to the semifinals, they only lost one single service game. Frankly, that’s not surprising.
On his own, Shelton became an overnight sensation with his near record-breaking serve, just three miles-per-hour shy of Andy Roddick's 152 mph mark, clocking in at 149 mph. Pair that power with Townsend’s net skills and sneaky pop-up smashes—which have brought her to the quarterfinals in the women’s doubles draw with Canadian Leylah Fernandez as the No. 6 seed—and you’ve got a bundle of potential at its blossom.
But it's not just their tennis aptitude that's been a joy to watch. Shelton and Townsend clearly have plenty of fun together on court, smiling and laughing on changeovers—and fans have been soaking up their magnetism. The two can hype each other up with pre-match music sessions and revel like best friends post-match.
“This is the most fun we’ve had on the tennis court in a while,” said Shelton after their win over seventh seeds Demi Schuurs and Hugo Nys on Monday.
In their journey to the semifinals, Shelton and Townsend powered through opponents that would seem, on paper, to be too much. In their opening match, they defeated No. 4 seed, Luisa Stefani from Brazil, and Brit Joe Salisbury, 6-4, 7-6(5). With 33 winners against their opponents' 19, they displayed offensive prowess.
In the third round on Sunday, against Aldila Sutjiadi of Indonesia and Rohan Bopanna of India, they recorded a commanding 6-2, 7-5 win, not losing a service game. Their break-point conversion rate was nothing short of impressive either, as they stole a break on three out of five opportunities, and saved all three break points against them.
They’ve both been turning heads, individually, too at this US Open, as they've thrived in not one, not two, but three different events.
Shelton, at just 20 years old, is the youngest American man to reach the US Open quarterfinals since Roddick did so in 2003. His solo performances, after turning pro only last year, have sent shockwaves through the tennis world. Townsend, who mustered a nifty defeat of No. 19 Beatriz Haddad Maia in women’s singles (but lost to No. 10 Karolina Muchova in Round 3) is in contention to leave this tournament as the world No. 1 in doubles.
Now, they'll gear up for the semifinals, where they could face No. 1 seed Jessica Pegula and Austin Krajicek for an all-American showdown, or the fifth seeds, Ellen Perez from Australia and Jean-Julien Rojer from the Netherlands.
Whatever the outcome, Shelton and Townsend have already etched their names into the hearts of tennis fans, and they've done it with style.
