Ben Shelton believes he can ‘disrupt’ Novak Djokovic as both players prepare for hyped US Open semi-final

Novak Djokovic is expecting a tough match when he takes on breakout American star Ben Shelton in the semi-finals of the US Open on Friday.

The world No. 2 will next come up against another home favourite in Shelton after the 20-year-old got the better of 10th seed Frances Tiafoe in an all-American quarter-final.

Three-time US Open winner Djokovic will, of course, be the heavy favourite to win the match-up at Flushing Meadows, but with the way Shelton has exploded onto the scene in 2023, the meeting promises to be anything but one-sided.

“I have to be ready for a great battle,” Djokovic said after defeating Fritz, before he knew whether he’d be facing Shelton or Tiafoe in the semi-finals.

“You know, both of the guys, Shelton and Tiafoe, have a lot of charisma. They bring a lot of energy on the court. They are very quick, very powerful.

“I mean, Ben Shelton has been serving some bombs this tournament. When his serve is on, he’s a very difficult player to play against, especially because he’s lefty, as well.”

Djokovic is right to be wary, especially given that he will have seen less of Shelton than the youngster has of him.

While Djokovic is 16 years Shelton’s senior, the young star from Atlanta believes he can use his lack of experience and exposure at the top level to his advantage when he meets Djokovic for the first time.

“I think that whenever you play somebody for the first time and someone who has been in this situation so many times and come out victorious so many times, that’s in the back of your head,” he said.

“You just know how rock solid the guy is and how mentally tough, how physically tough. So that’s definitely something that I have to game-plan for.

“I also think that, you know, it’s an advantage with my game style playing someone who’s never played me before. I think that I can bring some things to the table that maybe you don’t see in your normal match that you play on the ATP Tour. So I’m definitely going to try to bring some things to the table that are different and hopefully disruptive on Friday.”

Shelton’s run to the semi-finals – he has become the youngest American man in 20 years to do so – has arguably been the story of the tournament, but it hasn’t been all plain sailing. Each of his last three games have gone to a fourth set, while against Tiafoe, the youngster had to dig deep during the third set tie-break after he threw away two set points and gifted his opponent another.

“Going into the semi-finals, I’m pretty pumped about the opportunity to go back out there and have the same feeling that I had today against another really tough opponent,” Shelton said.

“I have been enjoying every minute on court, interactions with the crowds and just the tennis that’s being played. So I hope that I can bring a high level again on Friday.”

Djokovic and Shelton will have to battle hot and humid conditions – something they both commented on after their respective quarter-final victories – at Arthur Ashe Stadium, as well as interruptions from the crowd.

Djokovic became annoyed with one spectator during his quarter-final win, but later chose to see the positive side of the incident.

“I’m actually glad the crowd wants to get into it because it means that the match is interesting, that they want to be part of it, that they’re having fun. At the end of the day, they pay for tickets to come and watch you play, so we try to put on a show.”