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Tommy Paul admitted that he tried to distract Ben Shelton during their fourth-round match at the US Open. But instead of going for some classic trash talk, the 14th seed went the other way and attempted to be overly respectful to his opponent. It proved unsuccessful as Shelton came through 6-4 6-3 4-6 6-4 to reach the quarter-final of his home Grand Slam tournament for the first time.<\/p>\n
Paul became the latest seed to suffer an upset at the US Open on Sunday as he crashed out to his countryman. Aged just 20, Shelton now has two Grand Slam quarter-finals to his name – also reaching the same stage at the Australian Open earlier this year.<\/p>\n
The world No 47 was in scintillating form early on in the match, racing to lead by two sets and a break. Shelton also broke his own record for the fastest serve at this year\u2019s US Open – previously at 147 mph – hitting two 149mph aces while serving at 3-1 in the third set.<\/p>\n
Paul could be seen applauding his opponent for the monster serves and later admitted that it was all part of his plan to try and distract Shelton with some flattery. \u201cWell, you want to get them out of the rhythm but you don’t want to be, like, disrespectful in any way,\u201d the 26-year-old said.<\/p>\n
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Just in <\/strong> Carlos Alcaraz skips training ahead of US Open fourth round clash[LATEST] <\/strong><\/p>\n \u201cI try and be like overly respectful. Maybe it will get him out of his rhythm. Like on changeovers, like, Dude, you’re serving great today, that sort of thing.\u201d But it didn\u2019t have the desired effect.<\/p>\n \u201cHit him with a couple of those today but he had no reaction to it. It wasn’t really working,\u201d Paul smiled. The world No 14 did manage to get back into the third set, winning five games in a row to steal it 6-4 after being a break down. But former college player Shelton held his nerve to get the job done in four.<\/p>\n While some of Paul\u2019s comments on the court were part of his tactics, the American did have plenty of kind words for his rival after the match. He added: \u201cI think he played unbelievable at the net today. I mean, a lot of massive points, a lot of breakpoints, a lot of game points. He came to the net and, I mean, he volleyed really well. I thought that was one of the main differences in the match that changed stuff his way.\u201d<\/p>\n We use your sign-up to provide content in ways you’ve consented to and to improve our understanding of you. This may include adverts from us and 3rd parties based on our understanding. You can unsubscribe at any time. More info<\/p>\n![](\"https:\/\/cdn.images.express.co.uk\/img\/dynamic\/72\/590x\/secondary\/4941455.jpg?r=1693774817119\")
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