Ben Shelton will have to go through some big names early on if he wants to have a strong US Open.
The 21-year-old skipped the Olympic Games to spend more time preparing for the last Grand Slam of the year in New York.
He is now days away from commencing his campaign in New York and is keen to make a big impression as he did in 2023 by making the semi-finals.
But if Shelton wants to reach that stage of the US Open this year, he has to go through some big names early in the tournament.
What is Ben Shelton’s US Open draw?
On Thursday the US Open released the draw for the upcoming edition of the tournament.
Ben Shelton is seeded 13 for the Grand Slam and he will need to be at his best to at least equal his 2023 semi-final result.
Shelton will open his campaign against Dominic Thiem, who is playing in his final US Open and last Grand Slam of his career.
Should Shelton get past the Austrian, Spain’s Roberto Bautista Agut could be waiting in the second round, and a US Open rematch with American compatriot Frances Tiafoe could take place in round three.
Tiafoe is back in form after reaching the Cincinnati Open final and he will want revenge after Shelton ended his US Open campaign last year.
Should the World number 13 beat Tiafoe again, he could have another 2023 US Open rematch, this time against Novak Djokovic.
The Serbian defeated Shelton in straight sets to advance to the final a year ago, where he claimed his 24th Grand Slam title.
What is Ben Shelton’s form like heading into 2024?
As mentioned above Shelton skipped the Olympic Games to prioritise the North American hard swing and the US Open, and he was in inconsistent form over those tournaments.
Shelton entered the Atlanta Open, which took place at the same time as the Paris Olympics, and lost in the first round.
Shelton was far better in Washington and reached the semi-finals where he was upset by Italy’s Flavio Cobolli in three sets.
An early exit followed in Canada, but Shelton made the Cincinnati Open quarter-finals and suffered a three-set defeat to Alexander Zverev.
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