The tennis world was left stunned last night, rallying around Ben Shelton as he exited the Louis Armstrong Stadium in floods of tears.
And with good reason, given his US Open run had been cut cruelly short through injury.
Having led his match against Adrian Mannarino, the 37-year-old seemed destined to exit the event at the third round, marking a solid return for the veteran.
However, he was instead gifted passage into the second week of this major as injury completely hampered his opponent, eventually ending the match just before the fifth set could even begin.
Jim Courier and Lindsay Davenport are just two of the many pundits who have emerged to offer their condolences to Ben Shelton, with the former even desperately trying to find a ‘silver lining’ from a devastating evening for the American.
Jim Courier and Lindsay Davenport react to Ben Shelton’s US Open injury
Speaking on Tennis Channel, it was Davenport who initiated the messages of support, empathising with just how difficult this will feel for an American.
She claimed: “You know, as an American player, this is the tournament. This is the tournament you grow up dreaming about, trying to win. This is the one that most of us as junior players, this is the first time we got to step foot in for the majors, and you could just see how crushed he was. He has hopes of winning this tournament. He’s been close; he built so much momentum this summer to try and make a run here.
“He wanted to play Alcaraz in the quarters and see what would happen. So you can see, like, the heartbreak on him, and he’ll be back, we know it, but it’s pretty crushing as an American.
“When you think, the first real time you think you have a chance to win here, and then injury takes you out, that’s hard to swallow.”
Courier then added: “Let’s hope that this injury isn’t as substantial as it might be.
“One good silver lining that we saw in that match was that even though his forehand, he couldn’t hit it without serious pain, he was still able to hit full serves and full overheads, and that’s the most important shot for him overall.
“So that doesn’t seem to be troubled by whatever this is. So that’s my silver lining. I’m trying to take from it.
“Surely they’ll be getting scans in New York City today or sometime soon in figuring out what they need to do to go forward.”
Chanda Rubin also suggested that Shelton’s retirement from his match marked a smart decision, albeit a really tough one to make.
What Ben Shelton’s dad was doing right before he retired from his match vs Adrian Mannarino
Whilst Shelton seemed to debate whether he should be retiring from his US Open third-round match, his dad’s stance on the matter was clear from the stands.
After all, whilst the player sat, head in his towel, clearly arguing with himself, Bryan Shelton was shaking his head and gesturing to cut the match short.
For him, the long-term safety of his son and player takes precedence over any match, regardless of the stage.
At just 22 years old, Shelton will have so many more opportunities to challenge at this level and beyond.
For now, it is so crushing. However, it will make his future successes that much sweeter.
