Shelton, the southpaw with heart-stopping serve, is just 22. But he’s the only one in this elite group whose Grand Slam winning percentage (68% on a 19-9 record) tops that of Fritz. Of course, Fritz played at the peak of the Big Three era and, partly for that reason, he did not punch through to a major quarterfinal until his 24th try. Just nine majors into his career, Shelton has already been a quarterfinalist twice – and a semifinalist at the 2023 US Open, where he posted successive wins over Paul and Tafoe.
At 24, Korda is two years older than Shelton. The son of two retired Czech stars, Petr Korda and Regina Rajchrtova, Sebastian’s progress has been interrupted a few times by injuries. He’s only been to one major quarterfinal in 16 Grand Slam starts, but his record against his countrymen is outstanding: 3-3 v. Tiafoe, 4-2 v. Paul, 1-0 v. Shelton and 1-2 v. Fritz.
The popular cliche holds that “it’s lonely at the top,” but when it comes to the American game, it’s pretty crowded up there.
