It is believed that Ben Shelton, who is 15 years older than Roberto Bautista Agut, will defeat the seasoned opponent in the US Open second round on Wednesday.
Both the senior opponent and the 21-year-old defeated Luca Nardi in straight sets on Monday to recover from a lackluster performance in the weeks leading up to the tournament.
In his final Grand Slam match before retiring, Thiem had a difficult first-round matchup with Shelton and, predictably, lost 6-4, 6-2, 6-2.
In an effort to build on a respectable run of results prior to the year’s final Slam, his 21-year-old opponent defeated the 2020 US Open winner and advanced to the competition’s second round.
The No. 13 seed wants to record a seventh against his 36-year-old opponent in round two. It was his sixth triumph at his home Major, matching his six victories at the Australian Open.
The exuberant Shelton made it to the third round in Roland Garros and Down Under before making it to the fourth round at Wimbledon. Following his successes in 2023, he aspires to play in three matches at home this year.
The American reached unprecedented heights in both majors with his run in Paris and at SW19, despite his apparent early eliminations in the second and third Majors of 2024. He had previously lost in the first round of the French Open and the second at the Championships. It remains to be seen if the 2023 semi-finalist can build on his run from the previous year.
Shelton cannot afford to look ahead and underestimate the potential threat posed by his seasoned opponent, even though an all-American battle with Frances Tiafoe in the third round—a rematch of last year’s thrilling quarterfinal—may be on the horizon.
Even though he is past his prime, 11-time Tour winner Bautista Agut’s depth of experience may work to his advantage against this younger opponent.
The 36-year-old Spanish player, whose only US Open experience was losing to Wildcard JJ Wolf in the first round in 2022 as the 16th seed, claimed Monday’s round-one triumph was exactly what the doctor prescribed.
Though the tournament-opening triumph was far from easy, as seen by the 7-5, 7-6(3), 7-5(5) result, the seasoned player defeated Nardi in straight sets after returning to New York after missing out the previous year.
Following a triumph to the fourth round at Wimbledon, the Spaniard has now progressed past the opening round in back-to-back Slams, following first-round exits in the Majors in Australia and Paris.
Bautista Agut, who has never moved past the fourth round at Flushing Meadows, is hoping to set a personal record despite his advanced age; nevertheless, he has to match round-four runs in 2014 and 2015 by defeating Shelton and maybe facing Tiafoe in the next round.
