Two days ago, Alexei Popyrin left John Cain Arena in tears, having just beaten the world No 9, Taylor Fritz, and equalled his best result at a grand slam by making the third round. If he cried upon leaving the same venue on Saturday night he did not let anybody see it, for as soon as he lost the first of two match points he could not get out of there quickly enough, offering but a cursory wave before disappearing into the tunnel.
Rightly or wrongly, Popyrin’s upset of the highly fancied American immediately rendered him the favourite against the next, less-fancied American. But Ben Shelton is a rising star in his own right, and the 20-year-old left-hander arrived with an even bigger serve than Popyrin’s and a cool-headedness that did not waver despite the whole arena supporting the other guy.
