Ben Shelton will compete in a Grand Slam semi-final for the first time in his fledgling career when he faces Novak Djokovic at the US Open on Friday.
Djokovic, on the other hand, reached the final four of a major for a record 47th time by beating Taylor Fritz on Tuesday.
Match preview
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Shelton, who announced himself at the Australian Open earlier this year when reaching the quarter-finals at only his second ever major, has delighted his home fans in USA with an unexpected run to the final four at Flushing Meadows.
The 20-year-old became the youngest player to reach the semi-finals at the US Open since Michael Chang in 1992 when defeating his compatriot Frances Tiafoe in four sets on Tuesday night.
After cruising to win the opening set 6-2, Tiafoe - who reached the semi-finals himself at last year's US Open - fought back to level the match, before the two Americans were involved in an epic third-set tie-breaker.
Shelton would almost certainly freely admit himself that his biggest weapon is his serve, having fired in two 149mph aces against Tommy Paul in the previous round. However, it almost proved to be his undoing when successive double faults resulted in a 6-5 advantage becoming a 7-6 disadvantage, with Tiafoe serving to attempt to take a 2-1 lead in sets.
Not for the first time at this tournament, though, the Atlanta-born starlet found a way to dig himself out of a hole before holding his nerve in the fourth set. "I think that was the key for me tonight. Just being tough and being relentless, and knowing that I could go the distance physically no matter how bad it hurt," Shelton said after the match. "That was just kind of what I was sticking with."
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Shelton will almost certainly be introduced to new levels of pain when he faces Djokovic on Friday, though, with the Serbian capable of grinding down even the most talented and experienced opponents on any surface.
After surviving a scare against his compatriot Laslo Djere in the third round, when Djokovic came from two sets down to win for the eighth time in his career, the 36-year-old has sailed through the last-16 and quarter-final stages in straight sets against qualifier Borna Gojo and home favourite Fritz respectively.
Fritz had not dropped a single set across his opening four victories, but time and time again he squandered break-point opportunities against Djokovic, only converting two from 12 in total. Djokovic, as ever, was ruthless when his moments arrived, breaking Fritz six times from only nine chances, ultimately winning 6-1 6-4 6-4.
Shelton's explosiveness will almost certainly make him much tougher to break on Friday, though, especially if he can keep his double faults to a minimum. In his post-match press conference on Tuesday, Djokovic was full of praise for his opponent.
"It's great that Ben Shelton, a player that came from college tennis, is playing on the highest level, producing some amazing tennis," Djokovic said. "I think it's a great message for all the players who want to go to college but then still keep on playing professionally. It proves that it is possible, which may be up to 15, 20 years ago, it was completely different."
However, all respect for the relatively unusual path that Shelton has taken to reach this stage will go out of the window at Arthur Ashe Stadium when Friday's semi-final clash begins. For a player who would almost certainly class hard courts to be his favourite surface, Djokovic will likely feel that three career US Open titles is not enough, with this year's tournament providing a golden opportunity for him to move further clear of Rafael Nadal as the all-time Grand Slam title holder.
Tournament so far
Ben Shelton:
First round: vs. Pedro Cachin 1-6 6-3 6-2 6-4
Second round: vs. Dominic Thiem 7-6 1-0 [RET]
Third round: vs. Aslan Karatsev 6-4 3-6 6-2 6-0
Round of 16: vs. Tommy Paul 6-4 6-3 4-6 6-4
Quarter-final: vs. Frances Tiafoe 6-2 3-6 7-6 6-2
Novak Djokovic:
First round: vs. Alexandre Muller 6-0 6-2 6-3
Second round: vs. Bernabe Zapata Miralles 6-4 6-1 6-1
Third round: vs. Laslo Djere 4-6 4-6 6-1 6-1 6-3
Round of 16: vs. Borna Gojo 6-2 7-5 6-4
Quarter-final: vs. Taylor Fritz 6-1 6-4 6-4
Head To Head
With Shelton only turning professional prior to last year's US Open, it is perhaps no surprise that Friday's semi-final will be the first time that he has faced Djokovic, who has almost two decades' worth of experience more than his forthcoming opponent after turning professional in 2003.
We say: Djokovic to win in straight sets
Djokovic will be under no illusions that the home crowd will be vociferous in their support of Shelton, despite holding plenty of respect for one of the greatest tennis players of all-time. However, Djokovic is a seasoned veteran when it comes to facing adversity, whereas Shelton displayed some nerves at crucial moments during his win against Tiafoe last time out.
As such, while Shelton's vicious serve is likely to lead to a tie-break or two, we expect Djokovic to get the job done in straight sets ahead of a potential epic showdown against Carlos Alcaraz in Sunday's final.
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