Ben Shelton and Frances Tiafoe will face each other in an all-American quarter-final match at the 2023 US Open.

Tenth seed Tiafoe and rising talent Shelton will close out the day on Arthur Ashe today, Monday, September 4, as they play against each other for a spot in the semi-finals of their home Grand Slam at Flushing Meadows.

Tiafoe has had a dream run at the New York major so far, only dropping one set over four matches. This came in the third round, where he defeated twenty-second seed Adrian Mannarino in four sets.

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Meanwhile, Shelton has lost three sets throughout his US Open run so far, dropping one each against Pedro Cachin, Aslan Karatsev, and fourteenth seed Tommy Paul, respectively. Nevertheless, he pulled through every time and is yet to be taken to five sets at the tournament.

Tiafoe and Shelton to face each other for first time

This is the American men's first match against each other, so it will be interesting to see how their abilities match up - and some are predicting it could be a close one.

25-year-old Tiafoe has more experience than his younger compatriot on the ATP Tour as well as at majors and he will be keen to repeat the success he achieved at last year's US Open, where he reached the semi-finals. However, 20-year-old Shelton has shown his ability to rise to the occasion, meaning the pressure of the moment could actually help rather than hinder him.

One thing Shelton will be relying on to give him the edge will be his ultra-powerful serve. In his match against Paul, the young player hit an incredible 149-miles-per-hour ace, the fastest of the tournament so far.

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Nevertheless, Tiafoe is arguably more of a complete player who is difficult for his opponent to predict due to the variety of shots that he is able to pull off in succession. He also has a powerful serve of his own, and could perhaps benefit from being more well-rested.

This is because Shelton is also playing in mixed doubles with Taylor Townsend and has now reached the semi-finals of the event. He also participated in the men's doubles with Christopher Eubanks, but they were defeated in the opening round by Wesley Koolhof and Neal Skupski.

Therefore, although the match will probably be close, making it an exciting one to watch, it is likely that Tiafoe will be the one to make it through to the semi-finals of the US Open.

Prediction: Frances Tiafoe to win in four sets.

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Ben Shelton and Frances Tiafoe are making history 🇺🇸 They will face each other for a spot in #USOpen semifinals 🤝

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