The prospects for an American man winning the US Open experienced a significant blow on Friday as both Ben Shelton, seeded 6th, and Frances Tiafoe, seeded 17th, were eliminated from the tournament in their respective third-round matches.

Shelton was the first to exit after he had to medically retire during his match against Adrian Mannarino due to a shoulder injury. After taking a medical timeout in the fourth set, Shelton continued playing, even winning a game afterward. However, Mannarino’s ability to secure a break in Shelton’s next service game led to a decisive fifth set.

Despite his efforts, Shelton’s injury worsened, resulting in a premature end to his participation, much to the disappointment of the 22-year-old, who had previously won the National Bank Open in Toronto earlier that month.

Tiafoe’s match against Jan-Lennard Struff was a tense affair, where Tiafoe fell behind after dropping the first two sets at 6-4 and 6-3. He faced further challenges but managed to break back when Struff served for the match. Eventually, they went to a tiebreaker, where Struff clinched victory with a score of 9-7.

In light of these results, all hopes for American success at the men’s event now rest on Taylor Fritz, the 4th seed, who is set to compete against Jerome Kym later on Friday.