Round 2: Ben Shelton vs. Hubert Hurkacz
Arthur Ashe Stadium — Day Session — Second match
- Shelton and Hurkacz meet for the first time in a big-serving battle of power hitters Tuesday afternoon in the 2026 US Open men's singles tournament.
- Shelton, the top-ranked American man and a New York semifinalist in 2023, advanced to the second round with a 1-6, 6-1, 7-6(3), 6-2 win against Tallon Griekspoor.
- Hurkacz reached the Wimbledon semifinals in 2021 and the Australian Open quarters in 2024, but the Pole has yet to advance beyond the second round at the US Open in seven previous attempts. He beat Damir Dzumhur, 6-4, 4-6, 6-1, 6-1, in the first match of his 2026 campaign.
- Both players are in the rare air of reaching 151 mph as their fastest all-time serve. Shelton achieved the feat in Washington, D.C., this year, while Hurkacz did it 10 years prior in the first round of the 2016 Davis Cup.
- Shelton's four titles in 2026 have come on three different surfaces: in Munich on clay, Stuttgart on grass, and Dallas and Canada on hard courts. The last American man to do the same in a calendar year was Sam Querrey in 2010.
- In 2026, when Shelton moves past the quarterfinals, he wins the tournament. He has reached the semis in four events this year and lifted the trophy at all four, including a successful title defense at the ATP Masters 1000 in Canada.
- Hurkacz is back in the Top 50 for the first time since August 2025 after winning an ATP Challenger Tour title in Cancun and enters the US Open at world No. 47. The Pole hit a career high of world No. 6 in 2024—but one thing that hasn’t dropped is his serving prowess. Hurkacz is fourth on the ATP Tour's 2026 ace leaderboard with 506 aces, averaging almost 16 per match.
- Shelton and Hurkacz have never played one another in a tour-level match.
