NEW YORK – Ben Shelton quit during his third round match at the US Open on Friday due to a left shoulder injury.
Two major semi-finalist, sixth seed Shelton dropped the fourth set against Adrian Mannarino and forced the fifth set before halting. The injury was probably caused when he landed on his left arm after tracking the ball in the corner at the final point to score a third set.
But at the beginning of the fourth, the 2023 US Open Semi-Finalists began with Winn and said to the coach’s box, “I did something on my shoulder, I don’t know what it is.”
He was treated in the middle of the set as the trainer rubbed cream on his left shoulder and tried to consistently attack the net to shorten the points. However, after Mannarino won the set, Shelton was visited again by his trainer, cancelling the match and shed tears with towels and tears on his head, leaving the court with a towel and tears.
Mannarino, 37, from France, won his first victory in 23 career matches against top 10 players in the Grand Slam tournament.
“When he started to feel the pain, he was leading the game,” Mannalino said. “To be honest, he probably won that match.”
Shelton was certainly an atmospheric favorite after winning a 14-2 record on hard court this summer and winning the title in Toronto, then routed Mannarino early in the tournament.
Shelton hopes that Andy Roddick will give the US the first men’s major champion since winning the 2003 US Open. Another of them is No. 17 seed Francistiáfour, who reached the semi-finals at Flushing Meadows in the last three years, was eliminated with a 6-4, 6-3, 7-6 (7) loss of German qualifier Jan Leonard Struffe.
Shelton’s left-handed serve was one of the most powerful serves in tennis, and his 140 mph ace in the first set coincided with this third-fastest US open.
He still cranked up some hard things after the injury, but repeatedly grabbed by the shoulders, or even within the points.
Father and coach Brian Shelton told the 22-year-old to move forward in hopes of finishing the points quickly. Ben Shelton scored 13 serve and borrey points in the first three sets after only three sets, and he was in the net for a missed volley when Mannarino broke him with a 4-3 lead in the fourth.
Shelton fought four set points in the next service game before Mannarino continued to win the set. Ranked 77th, Mannarino left the courthouse for a bathroom break while Shelton was sitting on the bench, and his father moved his arm and told his son to stop it.
“I’m 37,” Mannarino said. “This is the first time I’ve won a match from the toilet.”