Ben Shelton leant forward in his chair and pulled a towel over his face. By then, though, it was already too late. Tears had begun to gather in his eyes and time was up.
‘Stop,’ came the message from his father and coach, Bryan Shelton. Cue more waterworks and a heartbreaking end for the No 6 seed.
Less than an hour earlier, Shelton led Adrian Mannarino by two sets to one. He was five games away from the last 16 of the US Open.
But then he struck one forehand that triggered something in his left shoulder and changed the course of this match. It lit the fuse on his hopes of winning a first Grand Slam, too.
‘The worst pain I ever felt in my life,’ Shelton could be heard telling his father. Still, he soldiered on, his hammer forehand replaced by a slice to reduce the agony. He saved five set points, too.
In the end, though, Shelton was powerless to prevent Mannarino leveling the match and that signaled the end. He packed his bags and wiped his eyes.
Ben Shelton was forced to retire from his US Open third-round match due to a shoulder injury
The American star was overcome with emotion as he waved goodbye to the crowd in New York
Shelton led by two sets to one against Adrian Mannarino when he suffered the injury
And then, around 5pm on Friday – a towel still draped over his head – Shelton waved a tearful goodbye to Louis Armstrong Stadium and a crowd that adores this American star.
For Shelton, this third-round exit is a crushing blow. For the US Open, too. The No 6 seed – the most electrifying homegrown player in either draw – was on course for a quarterfinal showdown with Carlos Alcaraz. Instead he is headed to the treatment table.
‘Of course, when he started to have pain, he was leading in the match and he would, honestly, have probably won that match,’ Mannarino admitted afterwards.
‘So, yeah, that’s unfortunate for him and very lucky for me… I’m happy to get through and I wish him the best.’
Shelton had Louis Armstrong on its feet at the end of the third set. After 15 shots of a pulsating rally, the American was clinging on. Then Mannarino let rip with a forehand that had Shelton scrambling to his left.
Somehow the American dug it out. The ball looped into the air and landed on the line. Mannarino netted his backhand and this stadium exploded.
Alas, just a game later, disaster struck.
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