By Richard Pagliaro | Wednesday, August 6, 2025
Photo credit: Matthew Calvis
Ben Shelton and Taylor Fritz are creating glory days for American tennis in Toronto tonight.
When US Open finalist Fritz faces former US Open semifinalist Shelton for a spot in the National Bank Open final it marks the first all-American ATP Masters 1000 semifinal since Andy Roddick defeated former roommate Mardy Fish in the 2010 Cincinnati semifinal.
It’s the second meeting between the pair, who are the two most likely players to break an American men’s Grand Slam singles drought and become the first U.S. man since Roddick in 2003 to capture a major singles crown.
“No pressure, definitely motivation,” Shelton said of that quest. “I have no doubt that one of us is going to get it at some point. Who knows who it is, you guys just got to wait and see. I think American tennis is in a really good place.”
While Fritz and Shelton lead a cast of seven American men ranked inside the Top 35, the seventh-ranked lefthander said his one and only choice to partner in the upcoming US Open Mixed Doubles tournament was WTA doubles world No. 1 Taylor Townsend.
“She’s the best female doubles player in the world,” Shelton said of Townsend. “She’s the best mixed doubles player in the world, in my opinion.
“I was lucky to get her as a partner. I don’t know if anyone else talked to her, she told me that the only person she would play with is me, and I told her that the only person I would play with is her.”
Higher-profile names, including Emma Raducanu and Carlos Alcaraz, Emma Navarro and Jannik Sinner and Elena Rybakina and Fritz command attention in the new US Open Mixed Doubles format set for Fan Week. Yet, don’t sleep on Shelton and Townsend, who partnered another American left-hander, Donald Young, to the 2024 US Open Mixed Doubles final where they lost to Sara Errani and Andrea Vavasorri 7-6(0), 7-5 last September.
Townsend and reigning Olympic gold-medal mixed doubles champion Katerina Siniakova are reigning Australian Open doubles champions. That title came months after Townsend and Siniakova won the 2024 Wimbledon doubles championship.
In New York, the left-handers may well play throwback mixed doubles attacking net more than most. Shelton said he’s pumped to partner Townsend.
“So I was unsure about playing the week before the US Open, the pre-week is really busy, it’s a difficult week, a lot of responsibilities,” Shelton said. “But I’m excited, and ultimately, when I saw the list of all the top players who wanted to play, it was something I wanted to be a part of.”
