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NEW YORK – American Ben Shelton is considered one of the open US favourites outside of top seed and defending champion Janik Thinner and second seed Carlos Alcaraz, and retired from a third round match against Adrian Mannarino on Friday, August 29th due to a shoulder injury.
No. 6 seed Shelton had to erase it for a three-hour match and retire in two sets of match squares. It was the first time Shelton was forced to retire in 178 career matches.
Shelton said he can’t pinpoint when he gets injured.
“Really high,” Shelton said after the match when he asked what his pain level was. “I don’t know. You know, I’ve never retired before. I’m not someone who’s going to retire if I can continue. Even if I was in pain, I was just in a competitive mindset that was trying to find a way and push it through.”
Shelton was the first of two ranked American men to fall into the US Open on Friday. A while after Shelton’s defeat, No. Francis Tiafoe of 17 was left uneasy to German qualifier Jan Leonard Struff 7-6, 6-3, 7-6 (9-7) in his third round match.
Mannarino, a French native and ranked 77th in the world, will face No. 20 Seed Giri Lehecca, the winner of Rafael Corignon, 6-4, 6-4, 6-4. This was Mannarino’s first victory over the top 10 players in the Grand Slam tournament in 23 attempts.
“He was leading in the game when he began to feel pain,” said Mannarino, the oldest man to break into the top 20 in ATP ranking history at the age of 35 after a career-high No. 17 in 2024, after hitting his career-high No. 17, after the victory. “To be honest, he probably won that match. It’s a shame for him and fortunate for me. I don’t know what to say right now.
The 22-year-old Shelton was leading in the second game of the fourth set when he screamed in pain in a forehand shot. He called for a trainer, received treatment on his shoulder, and was evidently discomfort and emotional on the bench.
“I did something on my shoulder. I don’t know what it is,” Shelton could hear him say to the coach’s box.
After losing the fourth set, during the previous switch in the fifth set, he was visited again by medical staff and shed tears and decided he could not continue.
“Normally, I play with anything and just find it, and if I can stay there, whether it’s sick or injured, I can stay there.
Shelton held the 2023 US semifinals and reached the 2025 Australian Open semifinals in January.
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