Ben Shelton looked lost in the first set, dropping it 1-6 to Tallon Griekspoor. Then he flipped a switch. The No. 8 seed stormed back to take the next three sets, closing out the match 6-1, 7-6 (3), 6-2 at the US Open on Monday night. Shelton's second-set dominance, particularly the tiebreak, buried Griekspoor after that brutal opening.
Frances Tiafoe had a tougher road in his first-round matchup against fellow American Martin Damm. Tiafoe needed five sets to advance, rallying when the match hung in the balance. The American showed the kind of resilience you need to make runs at Flushing Meadows, refusing to let his countryman capitalize on any momentum.
Both Americans punched their tickets to the next round, but Shelton's recovery from that first-set disaster carries more weight. Dropping a set 1-6 and then running off three straight without allowing any real resistance is the kind of mental reset that builds confidence going forward in the tournament.