Ben Shelton looks primed for more at US Open after breezing into quarterfinals — with big roadblock ahead

Read the original at New York Post ↗
Cite

Lewis, B. (2026, September 7). Ben Shelton looks primed for more at US Open after breezing into quarterfinals — with big roadblock ahead. New York Post. https://nypost.com/2026/09/06/sports/ben-shelton-looks-primed-for-more-at-us-open-after-breezing-into-quarterfinals/

Dated when The Aporia collected the article, usually within hours of publication. Check the original for its exact date and byline.

New York Post · collected 2026-09-07 · by Brian Lewis

Quick Summary

Ben Shelton defeated Stefanos Tsitsipas 6-2, 6-3, 6-3 at the US Open, advancing to the quarterfinals. Shelton had a dominant performance, losing only 14 points on his serve all night and never facing a break point. This is his first straightforward match of the year, and he now faces a tough roadblock in defending champion Carlos Alcaraz in Tuesday's quarterfinals. The article suggests that Shelton has the potential to end the 23-year drought for an American man winning a major title at the US Open.
Written locally by qwen2.5:14b on 2026-09-07, using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the same event (that is the story summary below).

AI analysis runs on qwen2.5:14b, locally

Story summary

Tommy Paul of the US had a chance to get revenge against Carlos Alcaraz in their quarterfinal match at the US Open. However, Alcaraz, who has been out for four months with a wrist injury, dominated Paul in straight sets (6-4, 6-3, 6-4). This victory extends Alcaraz's winning streak to 18 and keeps him on track for back-to-back titles at the US Open. Alcaraz also becomes one win away from improving his record against American players at Grand Slams to 13-0. Aryna Sabalenka, the top-ranked player, also advanced to the quarterfinals by defeating Taylor Townsend in straight sets (6-4, 6-3).

Written for “US Open Tennis Quarterfinals” on 2026-10-22, grounded in this article and the 19 other(s) covering the same event.

Story

📰 US Open Tennis Quarterfinals
Sports · 20 article(s) covering the same event. Compare every outlet's account →

Compared with similar articles

This article reads unscored and hedges 7% of its claims. Each row says how that neighbour differs.
New York Post
⚖️ leaning not scored 🔴 0% hedged 0 of 18 📰 publisher trust 66
“Both articles report on Ben Shelton's US Open quarterfinals victory over Stefanos Tsitsipas, with Article A describing Alcaraz's confusion about his next opponent and Article B detailing Shelton's dominating performance”
Both report
Both articles are reporting on the US Open quarterfinals match between Ben Shelton and Stefanos Tsitsipas, with both players advancing to the next round.
This one adds
Article A focuses on Carlos Alcaraz's confusion about his next opponent after defeating Tommy Paul in the previous round, highlighting a humorous moment where he seemed unaware of who he was facing next. There is no mention of Ben Shelton or Stefanos Tsitsipas in this article.
The other adds
Article B focuses on Ben Shelton's dominating performance against Stefanos Tsitsipas, highlighting his ability to get into return games and put pressure on his opponent. This article does not mention Carlos Alcaraz at all.
Framing
Both articles are assertive in their narratives, with Article A predicting that if Alcaraz repeats his past success he would be the first men's player to do so in under two decades, and Article B predicting that if Shelton continues to play well, he could end a drought.
The Guardian
⚖️ leaning not scored 🔴 0% hedged 0 of 69 📰 publisher trust 69
“Article A describes day eight of the US Open and mentions Tiafoe's win, while Article B mentions a different player, Shelton, winning on Sunday night”
Toronto Star
⚖️ Leans right 🔴 0% hedged 0 of 26 📰 publisher trust 63
“Both articles mention Ben Shelton's win on the same day, September 7th, 2026, at the US Open, and both quote him in a similar context.”
NBC News
⚖️ leaning not scored 🔴 7% hedged 2 of 27 📰 publisher trust 95
“Article A describes a match against Stefanos Tsitsipas on September 7, while Article B describes a match against Carlos Alcaraz that finished at an unusually late hour”
CBS News
⚖️ leaning not scored 🔴 0% hedged 0 of 17 📰 publisher trust 66
“Different opponents and match results indicate two separate events”
ABC News (US)
⚖️ leaning not scored 🔴 0% hedged 0 of 43 📰 publisher trust 59
“Different opponents and match details suggest two separate matches”
How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted
28
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
7%
2 of 28 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
not political
takes no side on a contested political question
Publisher signals
66/100
New York Post's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.
Outlets on this story
20
Sports
Same framing elsewhere
1
articles that frame the event the way this one does
Analyzed 2026-09-07 · how these are computed

How this is being covered How these are calculated →

Article leaning vs. publisher reliability
Source leaning vs. consistency

Publisher

New York Post · 12769 article(s) · 33 correction(s) detected
Running correction rate · 33 correction(s)

Who wrote this

Brian Lewis
35 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction
🔮 Rookie Mikel Brown Jr. — the centerpiece of the Nets rebuild — is set to make his anticipated NBA debut in Wednesday’s season opener against the visiting Hornets.
🔮 After two tanking seasons, almost 120 losses and one hand tied behind his back by his own organization, Jordi Fernández will finally get to do his job.
🔮 And Julius Randle might be the Nets’ best playmaker in the regular season, too, as he’s poised for a career year.
🔮 “Maybe ask the performance team about his weight and how much bigger his biceps is.
🔮 “It might take a couple games to click — maybe more than a couple of games — but you should be able to figure it out.
🔮 The sweet-shooting small forward led Brooklyn in scoring last season, and could again.
🔮 Brown will still be on a minutes restriction for Wednesday’s season opener against visiting Charlotte.
🔮 But sieve-like defense is a worry that could undercut any hope of a surprise season.
🔮 Finally getting Brown on the court — even if it’s off the bench and on a minutes restriction — will mean the world to the Nets.
🔮 Brooklyn isn’t expected to give him one, meaning Clowney would become a restricted free agent next summer.
Also by Brian Lewis
Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.
All 35 articles by Brian Lewis →

Topics

American Flushing New York Open U.S. Open

Subjects

Shelton PERSON · 8× Alcaraz PERSON · 2× American NORP · 2× Americans NORP · 1× Andy Roddick PERSON · 1× Ben Shelton PERSON · 1× Carlos Alcaraz PERSON · 1× Flushing GPE · 1× New York GPE · 1× Stefanos Tsitsipas PERSON · 1×

Narrative

That’s what I did the best [Sunday] … because I was so focused and able to repeat what I was doing point after point, I was able to get into a lot of return games and put pressure on.
framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-09-07
🔮 If he can keep playing the way he did Sunday, Shelton could end that drought.

Claims (28 extracted, 2 hedged)

Ben Shelton dominated from start to finish Sunday night, breezing into the U.S. Open quarterfinals and looking like a threat for even more — far more. asserted
Shelton → dominate → more
The athletic lefty crushed Stefanos Tsitsipas 6-2, 6-3, 6-3 at Arthur Ashe Stadium, finally putting together a complete performance in Flushing Meadows. asserted
lefty → crush → Meadows
“My team told me that if I didn’t show fully focused [Sunday], they were going to leave,” Shelton joked. asserted
Shelton → tell → me
I was focused, played a complete match from start to finish. asserted
I → play → finish
It’s my first straightforward match so far this year. asserted
It → ’ → ?
I’m happy with the way I played. asserted
I → ’m → way
That’s a big part for me being able to just move on to the next point, not hear any of the outside noise and just lock in. asserted
me → ’ → noise
That’s what I did the best [Sunday] … because I was so focused and able to repeat what I was doing point after point, I was able to get into a lot of return games and put pressure on. asserted
I → ’ → pressure
Finally, for the first time this tournament, I had a focused, purposeful service performance. asserted
I → have → performance
After being broken nine times through his first three wins of this Open, Shelton never even faced a single break point Sunday. asserted
Shelton → break → point
As a matter of fact, he only lost 14 points on his serve all night in an utterly dominant performance. asserted
he → lose → performance
Shelton gave the American men three quarterfinalists in Flushing for only the third time since 2005, and with potential for one more to monopolize half the field. asserted
Shelton → give → field
It’s still been 23 years since an American man has won a major. asserted
man → win → major
Shelton was still in diapers, not even a year old when Andy Roddick prevailed here. asserted
Roddick → prevail → diapers
If he can keep playing the way he did Sunday, Shelton could end that drought. uncertain
Shelton → keep → drought
Granted, Shelton would have to go through Carlos Alcaraz in a Tuesday quarterfinal. asserted
Shelton → grant → quarterfinal
He’s 0-3 all time against the defending champ and fully aware of what it will take to get his first win. asserted
it → ’ → win
The level [Alcaraz] has been playing at is really, really impressive to be not playing for five months. asserted
Alcaraz → play → months
To come out and do what he’s done so far this tournament has been superhuman,” said Shelton. asserted
Shelton → come → what
“He lights up the stadium every time he plays. asserted
he → light → stadium
It’s going to be fireworks on Tuesday. asserted
It → go → Tuesday
I hope you guys come back, because I’m ready to go. asserted
I → hope → ?
I’m excited for the battle. asserted
I → ’m → battle
Never played him here in New York, and, obviously, in the position that I want to be in.” asserted
I → play → that
While Alcaraz is a perfect 13-0 all-time against Americans in Slams, and has successfully come back from his 4 ½-month injury layoff to prove he is healthy, he’ll face arguably the only true contender in this field that could take the racquet out of his hand if he’s serving at his best. uncertain
he → come → best
If he serves again like he did Sunday, winning points on a staggering 43-of-51 first serves. asserted
he → serve → serves
Shelton knows it will take the level he reached against Tsitsipas. asserted
he → know → Tsitsipas
Frances Tiafoe and Alex Michelsen play each other Tuesday in an All-American quarterfinal, while Learner Tien is still alive and set to face Karen Khachanov in Monday’s round of 16. asserted
Tien → play → 16
💬Give feedback
🕘History 🎫Support