The American has a serve that’s hard to break, even for Sinner. In each of the four matches he has lost to him, Shelton has pushed one set to a tiebreak. Shelton is also, as he wrote on the camera lens after his last win, “battle tested.” While Sinner has been comfortable ahead most of the time at this event, Shelton has been in the trenches, digging through long matches and tiebreaker sets, and finding a way to survive each time. That’s a point of pride for Shelton, who says he has made himself into more than just a big serve.
“When I was playing here in 2023, US Open 2023, I felt like everything had to be perfect,” he says. “I was red-lining. Everything had to fall in line for that to happen, for me to have those runs.
“In the matches here, everything hasn’t been perfect. I had one good serving day out of my five matches. I’ve had to pick up the slack with everything else in my game. I think I’m a much better returner right now than in the past.”
