Ben Shelton humorously called out ESPN for incorrectly reporting that he had a brother in his public shout-out to his friend in a dominant first-round win at the 2024 US Open.
Shelton's match against former champion Dominic Thiem was the standout match on the opening day of the men's tournament. This was the Austrian's final US Open, and he needed a wild card to play in it.
Shelton showed a degree of respectability early on, as the first set stayed on serve for the first nine games. But the American upped the ante in the 10th game, winning the first break points of the match and converting his third set point to win the opener 6-4.
From that moment on, Shelton's thunderous serve and pulverizing forehand began to dictate the match, and there was little resistance from Thiem, who was outplayed. The 30-year-old won just four more games in the next two sets to slump to his 15th defeat of his farewell season.
After his opening victory, the 21-year-old thanked the passionate home crowd for creating a fervent atmosphere inside the Arthur Ashe Stadium and credited his team for pushing him to victory.
Shelton also mentioned his friend Nick, who watched the match from his coaching box despite being scheduled for a school exam later that afternoon.
"I love being out here in New York. Not much better atmosphere than being out here on Ashe so thank all you guys, you guys brought the energy day one. I'm glad I had the opportunity to open it up here first match with Domi (Dominic Thiem)."
"And thanks to everybody in my box who came out. My boy Nick has a big exam this afternoon but he showed out so I appreciate it. Good luck on that exam bro."
Apparently, Shelton's interview was misconstrued when ESPN identified Nick as the American's brother. Amusingly, the ATP rising star took to sosicla media to share his reaction upon finding out the gaffe and jokd that he was friend was mistaken to be his brother becuase of his skin color.
"In grand slams it's almost inevitable at this point... I ain't know I had a brother. Saw a lightskin in the crowd and said he must be family."
Shelton progressed into the second round, where he will face Spanish veteran Roberto Bautista Agut. The 36-year-old, competing in his 11th US Open main draw, edged Italy's Luca Nardi 7-5, 7-6, 7-6 in a tight straight-sets win.
Shelton leads their head-to-head 1-0 after beating Bautista Agut in straight sets at the 2024 Australian Open. Last year's US Open semifinalist is projected to meet defending champion Novak Djokovic in the fourth round in what will be a rematch from 12 months ago.
It is definitely one of the most anticipated matches at this year's tournament after Djokovic mimicked Shelton's telephone celebration from last year's semifinal match, which sparked hatred in the American's camp.
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