Ben Shelton punched through the New York rain and a stubborn Hubert Hurkacz on Wednesday, grinding out a 6-3, 5-7, 7-6 (3), 7-5 win to reach the US Open third round and extend his remarkable hard-court Slam consistency.
This is now eight straight hard-court majors in which the American No. 8 seed has made it at least to the third round. At Flushing Meadows, he’s already shown how far that base level can take him, with last year’s run to the semifinals. He looks intent on proving that was no one-off.
Shelton came in knowing Hurkacz would drag him into the trenches. He’d already gone four sets in the opening round. He went four again here, pushed deep into the evening by the Pole’s serving power and late surge in level.
"I think being battle-tested is great," Shelton said afterward, fully aware of the toll but also the value of these early dogfights. He admitted he didn’t want to live in five-set territory, and that perhaps he could have “won this match more efficiently,” but he put plenty of credit on the other side of the net, praising the level Hurkacz brought as the match wore on.
The pressure from Hurkacz forced Shelton to sharpen. The American said there were “so many things” he’d wanted to clean up over the last few days that started to emerge naturally as the match tightened. The result was a performance that grew, rather than frayed, under stress.
"Playing a match like that definitely, you know, benefits me moving forward," he said, sounding more energized than relieved.
Rain, roofs and a restless schedule
Outside Shelton’s battle, the tournament spent the day fighting a different opponent: the weather.
For a second straight day, rain pelted Flushing Meadows, shutting down the outside courts and squeezing the schedule under the roofs of Arthur Ashe Stadium and Louis Armstrong Stadium. Matches that should have been routine second-round affairs were jammed alongside first-round ties that had barely begun, or not started at all.
When the US Open shifted to a Sunday start last year, the idea was simple: spread the first round across three days, hit Wednesday with a clean slate, and move fully into the second round. The rain tore that plan to shreds.
On the men’s side alone, 25 singles matches were crammed into Wednesday as the tournament scrambled to catch up. The first round finally wrapped up by nightfall, but not without disruption and a fair bit of frustration.
Medvedev cruises – and argues for the birds
Under the Ashe roof, No. 7 seed Daniil Medvedev wasted little time taking advantage of the controlled conditions, racing past Sebastian Gorzny 6-3, 6-3, 7-5.
Well, almost without interruption.
Medvedev’s straight-sets win included a surreal interlude when two birds decided to perch on the net mid-point. Expecting the chair umpire to stop play, Medvedev kept going, drilled a winner, and then watched in disbelief as the point was replayed.
"This would be definitely in the top five," he said when asked where the moment ranked among his unusual Flushing Meadows episodes. He explained that as the birds arrived, he assumed the point would be halted. Instead, play continued, he struck the winner, and only then did he hear, "Stop, stop, stop."
"It's okay. It happens," he added, shrugging off the episode with a veteran’s calm.
De Minaur adapts on the fly
For Alex de Minaur, the chaos came not from birds or opponents, but from the schedule board.
The Australian No. 6 seed saw his opening match moved twice from its original court as organizers reshuffled to dodge the showers. He finally began his US Open campaign on Court 11 on Wednesday and made short work of Italy’s Andrea Guerrieri, winning 6-2, 6-2, 6-4.
"It's been a couple tough days," de Minaur admitted. But he framed the stop-start frustration as part of the job. "These tournaments, it's all about adapting and that's the name of the game. There's too much to play for to let something like this affect you."
His no-nonsense approach matched his performance: clinical, brisk, and unbothered by the delays.
Jodar stalled, Bu surges
Not everyone handled the disruption as smoothly.
No. 12 seed Rafael Jodar, the 19-year-old from Spain who arrived in New York on the back of a strong summer, never found his rhythm when his rain-hit first-round match finally concluded. Yunchaokete Bu of China swept him aside 6-2, 6-1, 6-1 in a one-sided finish.
"I knew it wasn't going to be easy because I was waiting a lot yesterday and today as well, but it is what it is," Jodar said. He pointed to the long delays and the lack of control players have over the elements. "We cannot control the rain, so it's difficult for both players."
Bu, unbothered by the chaos, simply took his chance and ran with it.
Michelsen delivers an all-American upset
As the schedule finally untangled and the first round drew to a close, one of the standout results came from an all-American clash.
Alex Michelsen produced a composed, straight-sets upset over No. 16 seed Brandon Nakashima, winning 6-3, 6-4, 6-4. On a day when the tournament tried to make up lost ground, Michelsen wasted none of his, striking cleanly and closing the door whenever Nakashima threatened a pushback.
By the end of the night, the US Open had what it needed: a completed first round, a packed third-round lineup starting to form, and a reminder that in New York, survival often means handling the delays as well as the forehands.
For Shelton and the rest of the contenders, the question now is simple: with the rain finally relenting, who makes this bruising start count when the draw really starts to bite?
