Ben Shelton vs. Dominic Thiem Full Match | 2024 US Open Round 1

15 the decision of course to skip the Olympic games this year did Ben which on the face of it when you look at the last month seems to have been a profitable one [Applause] 30 l no call Electronic line calling in effect here see anything that is within a certain range will be replayed for the fans and players to see but no challenges everything's automated I think that was an automatic decision for Ben Shelton to bypass the Olympic Games I think it was one that he probably had to seriously Ponder he certainly will will expect and hope to be a part of the team in Los Angeles when that's played on hard courts in the United States in four years time y so he'll hope to get at least one more if not a few more chances to play and perhaps going back onto the clay as a summer hardc Court season was opening in the United States wasn't right for him okay but you're right he had a pretty successful summer building towards this US Open semi-final defense mhm what was the level like in sin you were there Jim you obviously got to see him play some good ball there in terms of the standard that he produced that week I think he's been solid right he was a semi-finalist in Washington DC so he built some momentum there and I really thought he played an excellent level against Sasha verev who is as you know he's just so difficult to deal with in in any conditions but and those courts which were icy fast to handle either of those players serves was a challenge and it was a very very tight match one in the three tight sets by zv but Shelton was right there with the guy who has been at the business end of these major championships just repeatedly that was a good sign I thought for Shel team the team stayed away from the hardc cours this year stayed away from competing a fair bit in in honesty but hasn't actually play play on the hard since Australia back in January be hanging his records up in a couple of months from now theer Bank open the 500 there of course he's former champion of that event it's going to be an emotional week for him show a fair bit of fanf fair around him and everything that he's achieved [Applause] last event he played was back in Austria as well in kidsf tournament reached the finals in last year wasn't able to to get past his opening round but already getting some love from the home team there so to speak I hate when I make that pun unintentionally I like to stick it with purpose that was that was a wasted opportunity it was [Music] yeah 14 good start here in the game but team's ranking not that it's going to matter much any longer he plummeted down to 210 with losing those points from the finals in kitp right now it's just about celebrating these moments of getting another chance to see this US Open champion in action how did he evolv J as a player I mean Nicholas massu obviously was a guy who had seemed to have a pretty big influence I mean I'm not saying that he was the Catalyst but when he came along there seemed to be an uptick in his tennis what do you think evolved and there he is on the back right there so great to see Nicholas massu C medalist in his playing days from Chile who was a a gold medal level coach for Dominic team he really did bring a a real strong sense of positivity as much as anything it was a different energy in the in the Box his team opens with the hole to serve his longtime coach gter breznik who spent a lot of time with Tomas smer he he was fantastic for Dy but it ended badly they had some friction at the end and it was litigious as well never comfortable and I think domy just needed a sense of optimism and and something new and boy Nicholas massu in that players box he's he was about as animated as you would see of a coach right just positivity flowing onto the court for his player yeah that was when you get success early wasn't it cuz they won Indian WS didn't they I think about a month for as you say two or 3 weeks into the partnership suddenly he was winning at Master's 1000 level provide a bit of glue on it for a partnership yeah look Dominic team has that work ethic that every coach would want their player to have Dominic team never shied away from the physicality required to play his standard of tennis dirty L you know as fit as he as he could be and as fit as you can be on a tennis court huge power on the forehand and backhand side I think massu helped him with his return of serve mhm that return right there not a great example of a a blocked return but Dominic team he has big swings on the groundstroke and those are difficult to handle serves of this nature so he started being able to block forehand and backhand returns in play a little bit like stand rinka mhm under Magnus Norman's watch and then all of the sudden the power is able to be exploited in rallies CU you're in more of them sh so decent start from last year's semi-finalist one of the picks potentially of the first rounders I guess necessarily from a competitive standpoint don't think too many are hanging their hat on Dominic team winning this match but obviously from an Intrigue perspective there's a a little bit more to this one than some that's the word on the strip in the court speak Cincinnati was as quick of Court as I think the players have experienced in quite some time some say Shanghai can be that Speedy but the balls were were getting smaller rather than bigger normally when the balls are on hardcourt get into play by the end of their lifespan they're they're significantly bigger so everything was getting faster in route to the new balls which is very foreign to the players the word was right when players like Mev got here and started hitting on ash Stadium the balls were fluffing up immediately and they loved that by comparison so I think this is still a quick court but a little bit more within the boundaries of what the players are accustomed to seeing so it's going to favor certainly players that that can move the ball around you know someone like Ben Shelton's going to get plenty of value with his serve and if team can rip groundies it puts a premium on the players who can catch up to those shots defensively right allaround skills are going to be required here someone like let's say like a Taylor Fritz if he's playing someone who can't overpower him and he's in the center of the Court he's going to be tough to beat mhm but if you can get Taylor into the corners and moving and having to play defense it's going to be a hard court for Taylor to D up on just didn't out quickly enough to the first R he h he ended up being a defensive one and he play a heavy PR for it this is where that agility for Shelton's really important Second Life in a point like that 30 all challenging is it for these players to receive serve if you're in Ben Shelton shoes here given the shadow at this hour now certainly looks it doesn't it you you've been down there many years Jim in terms of the the challenge you face in that regard actually about the differences on this court between the day and the night Jim how Stark is that as well we talk about court speed but of course a lot depends on the time of day right I would imagine as well is is that a factor as temperature matters right temperature definitely matters one thing that has happened once they put a roof on Arthur's head here G it's just no longer as breezy as team keeps Pace levels things at two this used to be a very blustery Court where the wind would swirl down from the top of the bowl and it would really be Gusty and and moving the ball in lots of different ways and and once they put the the Hat on Arthur's head it's really taking a lot of the wind out of play and it it's made it a much more stagnant Court which also was has had the effect of making it hotter mhm for the players mhm it seems like the humidity also just sticks around inside of there yeah and the Shadows are certainly interesting mhm of course you don't have to deal with those at night yeah you know what you do have to deal with the night though H fans yeah there's a little bit of Amber fortification involved there isn't there an enthusiastic Bunch New York City nighttime crowds yeah keep BL s Nick and I say you know what have you been to Wimbledon they're like yeah I say it's the antithesis of Wimbledon okay that's all you need to know which is exactly what it is yeah much like hukin it's an acquired taste as US Open yep there's that servey you were alluding to in the change up how fast was 90 M an hour when he can hit it in the 140s if he chooses to G that's a variance isn't he that's coming in handy so far dominated by the server thus far 32 e for [Music] time so Dominic team holding his own in these early stages was nicely dealt with is he coming in a lot in s as well coming in quite a bit Ser voling quite a bit too he's really kind of developing this role as a disruptor Shelton we know he he loves the combat we know he's up for the tussle but now he's starting to throw in lots of different looks and feels for the players to deal with five out of six at the net already mixing a matching the serve speeds which you've been all over and then using that forehand as a weapon when he gets a chance and that too mixing his return to serve positions he's so raw right this guy is probably still another year or two away from really coming close to being a completed tennis player and have a lot more experiences and he's not quite as wrong that as that young man's tennis as I would imagine but there's I mean the athletic upside is obvious the leftin is a huge Advantage the highest ranked southp in the game he Ben is the Pugo be too far away either he in the top 20 you know Dominic team didn't come come out of the blocks as someone who looked like he was going to necessarily be a red light player someone who excels when the cameras are on him Shelton is sort of had that innately M team had to work his way into he's a little bit shy by nature in Shelton who was most clearly an extrovert [Applause] this guy shot out of the cannon in the Australian Open in 2023 yeah his Ascent was a sharp one wasn't it that by's own admission last year was a lot of learning right new events new new tournaments new blls every week facilities wasn't always conducive to allow him to play his best tennis y he's tole in his team too there's his dad mom Brian and Leisa his dad was the coach of the University of Florida Gator tennis team until last summer been asked him to help him out he struggled to put back-to-back wins together for much of the season now yeah I was actually looking at that and if you compare the two seasons in terms of early defeats look so from pretty much January to here last year he lost 11 first rounds this year it's only five first rounds now of course you got to look at who he's playing and the ranking is a bit higher so he's probably getting slightly kind of draws but telling somewhat perhaps that he's a bit more comfortable oh he's definitely more consistent managed his game much better than last year it's always the same with a young player how do they make their their upside is their upside right and that upside will continue to get better as they get better but it's the downside protection that gets better that that really helps them on their down days are they not as bad right how do you make their your bad days decent yeah the answer to that is shot selection bying large right players that hurt themselves with unforced errors which Ben certainly did plenty last year you start to mitigate that make better choices and all of a sudden your bad days become okay when you got to serve like this guy if your bad days are decent you're top 20 and that's what attack yep absolutely there it is that's an impressive angle to watch him from as well into some early heat maintaining his lead on serve here this [Music] set e [Music] [Music] time [Music] so some new balls team playing catch up here it's an impressive defense thought about as tough as it could possibly be [Applause] 5 that's a gift Ben Shelton to Dominic team love 15 serving in rally rally backand misses what of a let off off those are the those are the mistakes that you're hoping that this time next year if you're a Ben Shelton fan he will have eliminated most of it's okay to miss when you're trying to hurt someone you're just rallying yeah I looked at his return games one numbers and you know we look at a lot of numbers season there a fair few that are times are misleading but he's only broken 15% of the time in his career so far which whichever way you look at that needs Improvement right yeah no is um his second serve returns he he's making more of he's winning a slightly higher percentage of second serve points onean that that's where you can really make progress right people serve well on first serve it's tough to make a ton of progress there but second serves that's where the rubber meets the road this is where you're basically just starting the point and going to work and that return is just not good enough is it inside the service line that needs to be between the service line the Baseline every Pro knows that I think every Club player at home knows that it's just that it gets developed with dealt with at a different level here obviously teams forehand makes a quick work of that so two points the Dominic team has won have basically been handed to him in this game this is another chance for Shelton to put some pressure on [Applause] team N Up full credit to Dominic there that was excellent aggression from the Austrian to take over after that wasn't a terrible return of serve was it this back hand was impressive right and it through the court game team an abundance of first sech but some crucial points has been the fin first tires to get the wrist where it needed to be jez green actually joined the team pretty soon after to help with the recovery and just not quite able to recapture what he had before I think he'd be the first to admit Dominic that yes the risk was difficult but it was also the mind in terms of getting him to a place where perhaps he was prior to the injury it was challenging wasn't it really challenging to create the belief that your wrist isn't going to break when you've never had to think about it up until it failed rebuilding that trust I think very very difficult up 30 there Dominic hits that down the line that's his point Shelton broke to cover crosscourt here off a pretty poor drop shot yeah he was here wasn't he the team making nice adjustment in this game after having only won one point against Shelton serve up till now going into this service game he's moved very deep for the return of serve just to try and change the view try and get a few more returns in play not going to have much joy in this game but at least he's trying to that's what you want to see for team and we were watching him try to hit his way out of his sort of crisis of confidence when he played Adrien manarino at the 2023 Indian Wells Championship lost in a third set tiebreaker Nick you can see the lack of faith and trust in his forehand at the critical moment I just haven't seen that come back and I wish for him that he'll find it today love to see that plenty it's on ah head five four said me [Music] [Music] [Music] time [Music] held his own so far as the champion here four years ago 15 left 3 that's one of those Bravo M of course in the middle there pretty big age gap between the two six years it's a good ball to play a little bit himself [Music] 4 left shift in that return position just stepping up on that one trying to find the formula here 14 going to work best for Ben long term do you think Jim off that second server return position is is is deeper going to be better to get him in the point or is what do you think longterm is the is the best strategy for him in terms of position I think overall his instincts are going to be to stand in and be aggressive right I think that's probably what's going to end up being more comfortable for him but I I don't think you can just throw a blanket across it and say this is going to be my my thing every day I think you have to respect the opponents you know that's a different serve coming depending on who's who's throwing the pitches it's a matter of practice right and it's a matter of understanding what type of return works from where you are in the court if you're standing deep very few players can get away with a flat return Mev the obvious exception to being able to pinpoint it and still get back into position but you have to hit that shot if you're deep to return it typically with a little bit more spin on the ball buys you time to then move back into position because you're playing obviously a combination trying to win it with the return so look I think he could use the the crush and rush I think he's a guy with his backhand who like Francis TFO or Tommy Paul could take the ball early and go to net behind it at [Music] times out a what what do you think I think as you say I think for him if he's starting from a deeper position I'm not necessarily sure that's conducive to to where the way he wants to play the point personally but I'm sure he'll find a way and does he have a little bit of Pat rafter in his game where he just starts blocking a lot more returns if he's not getting enough in play on certain days y you got to find ways around problems okay DED himself off that shot didn't it and uh at a crucial juncture here sh's got a set point was done well that serve was ju potent one the followup wasn't too bad either hasn't played a lot of matches as either team in these situations you're going to find out a fair bit about just how tough he is much tough is right now because been a lot of early defeats this season Advantage shelter [Applause] Shon deep for this second serve looking for a forehand and what a second serve that was right in the corner surprising Shelton was moving back towards the center of the Court expecting a body serve some bravery from Dominic team gets its reward let's for service well that's some point this team couldn't have hit the half poly any better I don't think still got nothing to show for it [Applause] Shon third opportunity for the American Shon going even deeper this time to make sure he buys time to get the forand or back hand there he goes tough perhaps the longest rally of the set BR the points to defend obviously over the next few weeks but uh looking on the door of the world's top 10 right now 13 this week was did well in Asia didn't he in the fall last year so got a a few coming off and let's see play some good ball over the next few months but this is part part of life greater Ambitions you feel them over the next couple of months presumably from what you've said you see him as a top 10 pledge imminently next season I'm not sure if it's imminent but I think it's certainly where he'll be at some stage right still still got to iron out a few things in the game mhm keep working on the fitness make sure everything's tucked in yeah he's at 300 points off the top 10 right now MH I'm looking at the numbers dear currently occupies that spot so he's not a Million Miles Away by any stretch no no he's not not by any stretch but with the points in the semi-finals here plus the 500 points in Tokyo coming up fairly soon he'll he'll need to maintain a high level to to maintain his current ranking let alone go higher but it's certainly in his capabilities draw gods have not been kind to Ben Shelton in this tournament however I think it's fair to say mhm yes there's a stinger there's a few Americans in in the way up there's a TIAA potentially in the third round yeah which was the quarterfinal here last year yep and should they meet the winner of that one likely would meet the current gold medalist M 24 time major winner Novak jokovic looming in the bottom so Shelton could get a rematch with Novak as he saves the first break point of the match juice for Dominic team with a good ser and volley attempt that semi-final last year would take place in the fourth round this year should they have a rematch with Shelton and Novak long way to go lots of things between now Shelton good response to the first Challenge on his serve from Shelton who only lost a couple of points against his serve in the opening set and is lost three in the opening set he's lost three in this already in the opening service game so good improvement from Team [Music] sh nasty so much movement on the Ser as Jim has touched on that's interesting isn't it when you look we get so much data and the TDI stuff that we get these days with the Innovations fascinating because they give us a lot of data and and accuracy one of the things that that stands out is is Ben's accuracy isn't always that great is it certainly hasn't been to this point in his career but obviously the movement that he has and the variety is is compensating for that and it's obviously been a big factor as to why the serve has been so so tough to to to deal with and there leftin you know if you have the type of speed available that Shelton has and Sasha verev has you don't have to have incredible accuracy that's one of the big features of Sasha Vera's service Improv proven over the last couple of years he's lowered the Ball Toss that's given him more control he's also started to steer his first serve away from the lines in an effort to make more first serves that for for Z that was really important primarily because his second serve was was and still can be at times a trouble line when he's way over there you're good we start to hear more and more from coach Shelton here as this match wears on but uh for for Ben with his leftin all the different spins and [Music] speeds I think you'll see you'll see slight improvements to his serve in in how he serves and the variety and how much he chooses to bring to 140 mhm but the biggest room for improvement you underlined in set one breaking surf how do you do that 2% more than you're doing right now how do you climb from 15 to 17% y that gets you in the top 10 been many major winners over the years that have been in that I actually looked at rodic's numbers not that rodic was a terrible returner but it's all relative right R was about 20% breaks in his career if you look at players of the one Majors with that lower percentage of Flakes and it's a relative but obviously was a guy that got over the line something I was talking to Craig Boon huie herot's coach in uh January this year the beginning of the year United cup everyone's fresh and ready and anxious and eager I said what are your goals this year for hoopie said well he holds serve nicely m understatement his team looks like he's going to hold here to level at one a piece herot is one of the game's best at holding serves he said my goal is to just we're going to try and break serve one% more this year mhm so if we can do that that that might be enough for us to win something really important yeah now herot should break serve very at very low rates you know among the lowest when you look on your individual Matt stats as Nick Lester is covertly doing on his computer right now in Arthur RH Stadium because he is a professional well occasionally yeah in fact he's on a couple of ticks up on on Shelton both around the 15% Mark I catched 16 and a half Shelton just below 15 so they don't have to break serve with the best of them right they don't need to be at the top of that leaderboard because they're already there holding surf M they just need to be middle of the pack and that might just be enough yep and for those that are interested deonar currently leads the tour this year in return Games 1 34% a massive surprise that he's somewhere near the top advantage [Applause] shelter come on try to make a decent return and keeps on a little bit of a slippery slope here sh by two games to second set four games in a row and he've gone against him tole come on he his dad saying he wants to hear he wants to see one serving volley this game and that's been a bit of a mantra this summer from Brian Shelton coach Shelton want to see at least one serving Molly per game from Ben you like that idea I think so I mean I'm just actually sitting here thinking Jim that aside from that point if there's one player that's probably benefited from the rule of oncore coaching it's this Duo right I mean it's been going for Years anyway but the the sort of communication that they have is it's fairly consistent isn't it there's not a lot of downtime in terms of the sort of there's a lot of players with alarz and Ferrero are pretty constant out there as well but kind of think the Ben's benefit a fair bit from having that role in place there's no question he's benefited and there's also no question that because of his experience playing college tennis for his father where coaching has has always been allowed his dad didn't have to learn to coach during matches like a lot of the professional coaches have had to do in the past year or so MH how to say it how quickly to say it concisely coaches have been patrolling the sidelines and talking to their players between points yep for as long as I can remember and his dad was a a women's tennis coach at Georgia Tech for years after he retired from the tour and a men's tennis coach at University of Florida extremely comfortable giving information in bite-size packets y yeah as we know college tennis can be a little bit a circus at times to put it mly you need some some sort of uh cleaning device to get the filth off of that serve some kind of bleach something that was an awesome kick serve up the middle say Shelton center alarz with the coaching those teams getting a lot of bang for their bck absolutely going well here not even an hour on the clock dominating right now trying to arrest the decline here as the Austrian let's for service [Music] Dominic team at his Apex was a real problem for the masters of the game jokovic feder Nadal he caused them all kinds of trouble I was reading a nice piece in the athletic about Dominic the other day and this was an impressive statistic mhm played the big three 35 times 16 Wis there's not Mone that can uh clim that five and two against Federer question mark amazing isn't it remember I beat Rafer in Australia I think you were therey quarters wasn't it 19 20 possibly heck of a match that was that was 20 I think in route to his final there the finals there where Novak beat him and that would be the year where he would get the get the deal done here in Flushing Meadows like vinka the power on the for end and the backand could cause major major problems for anybody at its best yeah we need a little league table there don't we have wins against top three I can't imagine there's anybody else Mari obviously Mario check Andy's numbers but he's got to have more than 16 I would have thought against the top three would have to look at that but he's got to be up there G very stabilizing hold sh leads by three games to one second Dominic team Juan Martin do pool I look at players that have been real forces at their best who have had Misfortune when it comes to uh injuries that have really curtailed their careers yeah Robin subing another man who jumps to my mind as well totally great call 15 left was was mono yeah never recovered from it no got his own ball nowed his own tennis balls Robin it's quite a good one what I he he really been around the sport too much is he not in the sort of mold of a coach or anything else let him off there's a thir bit going on needed some mon python music to that point at the end didn't it we did didn't we went down a route no one thought we were going plus one for and obviously a big number for him isn't it as well and have those numbers here to hand but he can employ that for and off the serve it's generally going to be conducive to him controlling proceedings Shelton last bit of variety and he's certainly controlling this match leads by four games to one second set sh up so the American controlling things out here the set and a break that is a point right from the mold that you just alluding to he was at his best he could produce that consistently good flexibility here you see Shelton's been working on that nearly does a full split here 30 love so important for these players not just Court coverage wise but also just helping them with that elasticity I think my instinct is that and all the physios will tell you this that it helps prevent injuries when you're that flexible you just have more room mhm could never relate to that Nick [Music] I'm not sure when he can relate to that either he smoke the forand there I tell you what if you were inflexible I'll take inflexible all day long if you'd like to swap CVS it's uh the game's gotten a little faster it's a bit more important these days but uh that forehand was nuked 10th winner off of that side for Shelton overplay there and probably in reaction to it from team one of the the nuances of this sport is in movement wise it's often perhaps not talked about enough it's how quickly you decelerate isn't it Jim out of the corners acceleration is one thing you can build speed but your ability to decelerate out of the corners and then recover is a significant part of how well you defend beautifully done there yeah it's the the little shuttle drill right where you're that the testing did you see that last year at the nextg when they did the testing on the players to Showcase their strength and their agility and the agility drill where they kind of start in the center center of the line there service line come touch the sideline go back and go touch the other line and they time them that really is the key movement for tennis that's the one you've got to have that's exactly what you're talking about and that's where being as light as possible while while being strong is so beneficial because you can change directions much more effectively ju imagine putting on a 5B vest mhm it whether it's muscle or whether it's fat five lbs when you're in the corners changing directions is five pound that you don't use is five lbs you don't need five lbs that slows you down that's why being as efficient as possible in your diet and everything matters more than ever in a game that's ruthlessly Speedy these days errors passed you could have gotten by without being perfect tough to be the top anymore otherwise there was no room for an average athlete as there no it doesn't happen look you can you can get there with Superior ball striking you can be near the top but to be at the top I I don't know not sure anymore this is a Top Flight chance here for Shelton to take firm control of of this match set two juice accidentally arur Fe was the athlete that tested the best out of the nextg last year there another testing moment for team here but I'm glad the atp's doing that I've I've sort of wandered aloud on the air for years about tennis having an a combine which is what the NFL does for their incoming athletes coming out of college test them athletically just so you know who is our best raw athlete M have a baseline for that [Applause] and correct me if I'm wrong Jim but I feel like as well these days and again just talking to to various people within the sport that the days are longer I and what I mean by that is someone like Ben might be in at he's playing at 12 today he might be in at 8 he's doing an hour and a half to start with he's probably doing an hour and a half after the match maybe more when did that evolve and that in terms of you know what I mean that they locking after the body I'm not saying you guys didn't but it's it's moved and locked up with prize money increases which have increased the amount of professionals that are around these players in different elements out of personal physios the amount of strength and conditioning coaches that are on the road that are making sure that they're useful and then of course the sport Science is ever revolving and the players are making sure that they do doing all the pre-warm ups to prevent injury right which is probably why we're seeing players play more successfully into their 30s yep in Prior Generations was talking to some guys at the O club a couple of weeks ago about the Championships talking about the differences over the years and he said but listen we need we're just ordering ice baths right now at a r of kns we need more space because these guys need it for Recovery whether the science behind it and there is different science behind the ice paath isn't there let's be honest but right now it's popular and and they need more just that we more than alone they were looking for for more space to put more in because it was the demand was higher for players to recover good maneuvering from the Austrian to put himself into position to hold here and to stay within a break and yeah a lot of these tournaments are having to maneuver for more space for the players they're increasing entourages and and the recovery zones yep you're right about that game team apology because going for the the Pikes on the p couldn't find it shelter leads by four games to two second set new balls coming some players going to they Shelt going to get a new bat get ready to go but listening to the officials here the US Open give us sort of the overview yesterday leading into the Championships talking about the coming years here that they're going to be developing more space for the increasing needs of the players in the playing group even a player even a tournament with as much size as this one still needs to expand because of the demands y that they're getting from their stars and let's face it the players are the product here so they're going to get taken care of thank you Cincinnati they just had the the Masters 1000 WTA 1000 that's increasing immensely between this year and next year again more space for the players more practice courts more dining facilities yeah and it'll need to because of course it'll be a 12 Day event increasing draws more players on site bigger locker rooms all of that stuff it's a bit of an arms race it is and that that's the good news is that what that means also is that the ecosystem in tennis is thriving uh the demand from fans and sponsors alike is unlike any we've ever seen which is pretty amazing when you think about the star power that is either left the game or is on the way out absolutely Serena Williams gone vus Williams still around occasionally Roger feder out Nadal hopefully sticking around for a bit more but sparingly mhm Murray out MH noac still here and probably going to be around for a while but he's sort of the last of the micans mhm G Shelton tenness is thriving like that Shelton forehand though absolutely and this is someone that definitely you feel can move the needle in this SC that'll be requ set the break [Music] [Music] need any more [Music] [Music] time e [Music] shter match wins this year in fact only ever only beaten one top 100 player the entire year as Dominic team move in not quite sure what his schedule's going to be between now and Vienna but roads will culminate there he'll need wild cards if he wants to to play in the big tournaments that's for sure if he is interested was an interesting time following his win at the US Open for Dominic team came back early in 2021 just months after winning in New York and took a middle break after the Middle East he just didn't seem right and he he skipped Miami and then really shockingly Monte Carlo and Barcelona's beloved clay cor tournaments was almost as if reaching his goal sort of sucked all the life out of is tennis passion in a way took him time to resettle didn't it absolutely agree more and then of course it was too late because just a few weeks later he was on the treatment [Music] table an impressive point about his offense but a little bit of everything he's actually out there for about an hour earlier on today was bent Waring up I watched it pretty closely he was there a lot of people out there with him he was working pretty intently different aspects of his game seems to have paid off nicely cuz he's got a couple of set points 30 14 [Applause] Go game second to be Dominic team's career in major championships is running out to the Arthur rash Stadium talked about his game a lot how does he manage the emotion to Jim because last year he was all in this guy was embracing this environment he was not even here but at the end of the year is he does he reain it in or do you want to see him just be himself emotionally on court I don't know that he has a throttle uh a governor if you will I think he he is who he is he's he's exuberant out there he likes the combat he likes the interaction with the crowd I think when he plays a night match which is likely to happen in the third round if not the second round should he should he reach there and have tifo slated you'll see him get pumped up and that's who he is that that's um he's true to himself so this match isn't offering that type of Challenge on the scoreboard and that type of atmosphere is it no so he's he's responding the way he should which is kind of matter of factly to a one-way situation right now how about the serve numbers so far Nick I mean these are impressive from Ben Shelton yeah and interesting is when you look at the average first speed which speaks to the point what you are making because he's at 115 mph average on our numbers which obviously on the face of It's relatively low but again that variety it's lower than Dominic team's averaging MH but what about their upside what about the fastest serves yeah 135 and I think he was about 148 here last year a couple of times wasn't he he was yeah yeah he he can definitely go harder than he's going right now and Dominic team has hit at 128 no uh no shortage of power there as we see the numbers on our screen but the most important number is Ben Shelton making Sasha's ver type first serves in play 77% and that is a perfect blend of power when he needs it and trickery with uh the mixing of the speeds the locations the twist serves as first serves the serve and Vol it's just been difficult for team to return much at all yeah that's what up about the an average of 68 which actually I had a look has increased a little bit this year I think that's up 4% from last year it's pretty substantial 30 love what's nice if you're Ben Shelton have those options if you come up against a player who is able to handle all your variety you can always just lean back on your fast ball and challenge them with 140 plus time and time again but if you don't have to use it boy it's nice not to stress the arm out and the shoulder out 40 left bit of a love 40 return from Shelton taking the first serve early and aggressively but good comfortable start for team in set three as he tries to reset after getting bulldozed in set two had a early break chance and the first game of the set did Dominic team couldn't close it then Shelton pulled away from him all right let's go 10,000 ft Nick and put you on the spot here give me uh give me your overall thoughts about men's field and your favorites at this year's US Open given form and fitness I'm not looking past jokovic jokovic as you guys would call up over here for me that's obviously a lot of people are speculating what the Olympic gold is is going to do to his I mean desire I personally I struggle to see how that for me that's maybe I'm going to look stupid in a couple of couple of weeks but for me I he's my favorite right now um can only see that liberating him even more as if that's my opinion Jim but maybe I'm wrong um fascinated to see how yanic comes with everything because let's be honest it's that can't be easy can it you know it's there's a lot going on there right now and these guys are you know me than anyone so good at compartmentalizing um but like alaz has cooled a bit this year and despite the fact it's been an unbelievable summer I'm just not sure again my own opinion that it's it's going to carry on here that's just a feeling a gut feeling so for me noak's my my favorite run right now I like the Americans they're in good form right tell me Paul's had a great year Taylor frz has got to look at this draw and think he's got a good draw doesn't he I'm I'm here right Taylor Fritz is is is looking to break that major quarterfinal duck I think isn't he it's as far as he's gone so that's where I'm at yeah that's that's satisfying what it's I'm I'm after opinions I'm trying to get a feel it's a fascinating finish to the major season and it's it's a a golden major season right so the you the youth Brigade took the first three Majors Novak snatched gold Player of the Year very much in the air in the balance here hanging Center year to date more points than anybody mhm alar has more Majors than anybody Novak's need was not right for Wimbledon still made the final mm and then it was better in Paris for the Olympics clearly nicely done there Shel B so we'll put a pin in that thought and we will dig a Little Deeper get under the surface here at the US Open on day one [Music] I e time [Music] [Applause] so Dominic te playing his 37th and final major of his career overlooked for a wild card at R which some people were a little surprised by Jim said a finless on a couple of occasion he's been very much front and center in Paris the peak of his powers buttin quales there he's had his moments in this match competitive opening set without he cracking really at a crucial moment he's got away from him in the second apology from the [Applause] 30-year-old they happy has played a whole lot of tennis this year as we referenced Dominic team with Shelton for the first eight games just couldn't quite cling on at that crucial stage of the first slipped in the second and never really recovered but keeping this third set competitive for now what the sort of Point Jim that you were talking about that you feel maybe Ben Shelton if he is going to continue the Improvement is going to play a bit more career yeah that's exactly right Ben Shelton having a great serving day today serving 75% first serves in play yet to be broken but it's about how many times he can break serve that's what he's been successful at today in a way that team is not and winning those neutral rally points against someone as accomplished as Dominic team is not easy but that's where Shelton's making some gains this season compared to his rookie year last year a little more patience a little more knowledge of what he's capable of not overplaying too early in rallies which is hard to do when you got that kind of offense on the other side of the net coming at you potentially that was vintage Dominic team on the back end yeah worth remembering this guy was a two-hander until he was about 11 years of age as well so it was relatively late but that change came in his youth it's a interesting when you point that out juice Dominic team's one-handed backhand one of the best in the game at his Apex it's a shot that he's always been more comfortable catching late and going line he's never really had that short angle crosscourt backhand that someone like rishard gase has kind of thrived on the short angles not it's all about power for team and as he puts himself in Peril here with that ER for you think about someone who develops a two-handed back end as a child the left hand plays a big part and then you take it off and it's all right hand it probably wasn't as natural for him to start snapping it off crosscourt Sheldon about to snap this match wide open if he can break it here sh and you may have done just that in the previous game if you weren't with us we the as we remind you to go to usopen.org if you haven't already do a bit of shopping if you'd like to do so there's a variety of different t-shirts jumpers whatever you want to get you can get it all here some nice Styles as well this year 40 different types of hats yeah choose your color or covered we were just discussing earlier on the the overview of the men's draw and how do you see it I guess the fascinating aspect is the yanx C scenario isn't it Jim because that's an unknown yep how does Center deal with his adversity now the the cloud that he's been quietly playing under for months now has now been exposed for everyone to see he's been exonerated but lots of questions swirling amongst the playing group about how his positive test for a steroid which are now widely public if you're not well read on it please jump on the internet you'll find plenty to chew on there do you see him get to put that to one side we'll see it'll be a test of his mental capabilities to compart M wise tennis wise coming off of the ti in Cincinnati his game looked sharp his hip did not look particularly great that's been a problem for him physically a little bit this year here Shelton holds but Center got the toughest draw of Shel leads by but the top four SE his is the toughest he as uh Tommy Paul potentially in the fourth round the inform American was rough on a quick hard Court which this most certainly is if all things go to seeds it will be Tommy Paul in the fourth round be Danel meev the hardcore specialist in the quarterfinals that was the one you did want to see in your quarter if you're one of the top four players well Center got him and oh by the way alcaraz in the semi-finals now that's assuming everyone wins their way to those rounds which is rarely the case but the draw gods were not kind to yanic Center alcar has sebie cord in the fourth round alcaraz looked mentally burned in Cincinnati didn't he after the Olympic silver he he looked flustered against m y and the conditions so uh perhaps a little bit of rest and recharge will do him some good he'll get going here pretty soon but he's got Corda in the fourth round herot in the quarters and again Center in the semi should they all go to form that that's a it's a reasonable draw jokovic he's got a pretty good draw right likely to get the winner of Shelton in tiao who would meet in the third round that would be his round of 16 match rublev in the quarterfinals zarev in the semis and you got to like I know you you said that you like Novak All Things Considered and I think all things considered that's probably a good thought watched him practice yesterday he looked like he was moving phenomenal and of course ver is in a section with Taylor Fritz might be a problem for him we'll see Bruna in that section there's all kinds of things that are going to happen there's look at Dominic team's family and must be Bittersweet for them but hopefully they'll get a strong sense of Pride for seeing this former US Open Champion out here one more time on Arthur Ash Stadium yeah I appreciate it's a very personal situation but what does retirement look like for you obviously went through it Jim had amazing career you then had to hang the rackets up Andy Murray is currently in that situation and I know everybody will cope differently but how do you deal with that what are the everyone's going to go through their own pathway on that so what I wish for Dominic team is peace you the worst thing for I think humans in general but athletes as well is Regret you always have things you wish you could do differently but Dominic team should sleep in this goes for Murray as well incredibly well knowing that he was a tremendous professional not a tremendous professional player he certainly was that too but he just did it all every day he put his energy in the right places to try and become the best player he could be and he and he found that level four times a major finalist US Open champion oh and I guess like Mary in many ways and I'm not saying this is the case but he's had two years wasn't played a whole lot as well so it's not like he's been it's going from all to nothing is it I don't know if that's going to be any kind of comfort to him or any that makes that transition a bit easier but who knows yeah it's a very personal experience and it's not unlike what people who retire from their jobs nonathletic jobs will feel which is okay what's next G did you miss the bus did you miss the the energy of being out there these sort of Arenas and that adrenaline did how did you replicate that you didn't need no I I did not miss it I was at peace when I made the decision to call time on my career for players I I we're all watching Andy Murray now he's on the other side of it and it was he was so clear that it this was not his decision that it was his body's decision and how frustrated that was for him and for dominant team to a certain extent it's a similar scenario where he was in The Climb of his career his wrist went out on him and he's not been able to retrieve the level that he' earned MH 30 left but all in Dominic team has lived an amazing life I think we can all acknowledge that he's got to play a game call it a job provide himself and his family Financial Security yeah $30 million in prize money alone and he's brought a lot of joy to a lot of people let's second but it'll be his road right he'll travel it and only he'll really know what it feels like everything's [Music] [Applause] personal and this is a a young man on the other side of that road Ben Shelton's Road still very much the the early stages just kind of getting going I got to believe if you went down on the court right now and just called a timeout and said you know Ben I'm going to give you a choice here you can have your career with open-ended possibilities or we will guarantee you you'll have the career of domino team which would you take it'd be pretty tough not to take the team route after this career day where he has served back as Jim was saying he's only lost eight points in total in was three sets of tennis on his own serve as a game away here every [Music] time [Applause] so some new balls for Dominic team to tr and extend his major career a little further love [Applause] [Music] team shelter just up of the net getting a new r here beautiful day here in New York City right on 2 o'l Eastern Standard Time second service that's explosive it is mly impressive when he does deliver on it that's Shelton working his forehand into a weapon a shot that Dominic team has done a lot of damage with over the course of his career backhand also a mighty sword off for today for the American it's been a clean display the Lefty oh took it on saw some space [Applause] but sadly for him Rock in the control required and Ben Shelton he's got a matchball it's a fine start for Ben Shelton here in New York as he brings to an end the major career of Dominic [Applause] team nice respect to the net there from Shelton to Dominic team Shelton the semi-finalist last year starts off with a bang terrific level from him wonderful serving and wants to hear it for Dominic team from the crowd Shelton gets the win but this moment is really about this man Dominic team and what he's meant to the sport and there is Stacy Alister the tourament director on the court to congratulate him on a a magnificent career at Majors four times a finalist twice in uh ring gar