American Ben Shelton enjoyed a 6-3, 6-2, 6-4 victory over Ignacio Beaus in the first round of the US Open on Sunday.
For the second year in a row, Shelton played the opening match of the tournament at Arthur Ashe Stadium. He defeated Dominique Thiem on the first day of 2024.
“It’s starting to feel like home to me,” sixth seed Shelton said in an interview on his court. “This is the best court in tennis, my favorite place to play, my favorite tournament.”
The 22-year-old Shelton has left his first Masters 1000 title in Toronto and became the first American to win the event since Andy Roddick in 2003.
He spent an easy time against unseeded buse on Sunday, saving all five breakpoints he faced despite finishing with five aces.
Since its launch in 2024, Shelton is 21-0 against an unseeded opponent in the slam. He won second after only Janik Thinner (22-0).
Shelton will be on a two-day holiday before playing two-day matches against Pablo Carreno Busta or Pablo Lamas Lewis on Wednesday.
The one who is about to join him in the second round is Taylor Fritz, who played another American, Emilio Nava, in Louis Armstrong. Fritz seed No. 4, the first major since 2007 US Open (No. 5 Roddick, No. 6 James Blake) to be seeded two American men in the top eight.
In the other male singles, Sunday 18th seed Alejandro Davidevich Fokina defeated Alexander Shevchenko 6-1, 6-1, 6-2. No. 16 seed Jakub Mensik passed Nicolas Jarry 7-6 (5), 6-3, 6-4.
ESPN research contributed to this report.
