New York-Ben Shelton stopped during his third round game on the US Open on Friday due to a left shoulder injury.
The No. 6-Seeded Shelton, a two-time large semi-final, stopped against Adrian Mannarino after dropping the fourth set, forcing a fifth set. The injury was perhaps caused when he landed on his left arm after tracing a ball in the corner at the last point to win the third set.
But early in the fourth, the American open semi -finalist began to shiver and said to his coach’s box: “I did something with my shoulder. I don’t know what it is.”
He received a treatment in the middle of the set, where the trainer rubbed some cream on his left shoulder and then tried to shorten the points by attacking the net consistently. But after Mannarino won the set, Shelton was again visited by the trainer and called off the game, leaving the court a towel over his head and tears in his eyes.
Mannarino, a 37-year-old from France, ended with his first victory in 23 career against matches against top 10 players in Grand Slam tournaments.
“When he started to get pain, he led in the competition,” said Mannarino. “To be honest, he would probably have won that competition.”
Shelton was certainly a tough favorite after entering a 14-2 record this summer on hard courts and winning the title in Toronto, where he asked Mannarino early in the tournament.
Shelton was one of the best hope to give the US the first big champion of the gentlemen since Andy Roddick won the US Open 2003. Another of them, no. 17 Seed Frances Tiafoe, who had reached the semi-finals in two of the previous three years, was eliminated with a 6-4, 6-3, 7-6 (7) loss for the German qualification Jan-Lennard Struff.
The left-handed Serve of Shelton is one of the most powerful tennis, and his 140-MPH AAS in the first set corresponded to the third fastest of this US Open.
He was still able to set up a few hard after the injury, but repeatedly grabbed the shoulder – or even in the middle of – points.
Bryan Shelton, his father and coach, told the 22-year-old to come forward, hoping to end the points quickly. Shelton had 13 Serve and Voldype points in the fourth set after just three in the first three sets, and he was on the net for a missed volley when Manarino broke him for a 4-3 lead in the fourth.
Shelton fought four set points in his next service game before Mannarino held to win the set. The no. 77 Ranked Mannarino left the court for a bathroom break when Shelton was sitting on his couch, with his father Bootte to tell his son to call it off, what he did when Manarino returned.
“I am 37 years old,” said Mannarino. “It’s the first time I win a competition from the toilet.”
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