Ben Shelton and Frances Tiafoe hug after their match at the Mubadala Citi DC Open. Geoff Burke-Imagn Images

Ben Shelton Beats Frances Tiafoe in DC Open Quarterfinal

Originally posted on Serve on SI | By Pat Benson | Last updated Jul 26, 2025 10:03 AM ET

Last August, Frances Tiafoe pulled off a comeback victory over Ben Shelton in the fourth round of the 2024 US Open. Last night, Shelton got his revenge in Tiafoe's hometown.

The fourth-seeded Shelton defeated sixth-seeded Tiafoe in straight sets in front of a packed crowd at the 2025 Mubadala Citi DC Open quarterfinal: 7-6(2), 6-4. Shelton improves to 3-1 against Tiafoe and is starting to separate himself from his fellow American.

The highlight of the match came during an intense conclusion to the first set. Tiafoe fought back to even the score at 5-5 before the two stars traded breaks. Shelton hammered a 144 mph serve during the tiebreak to serve as an exclamation point for the set.

The two big-hitters served at a high level. Shelton tallied nine aces and one double fault. He won points on 90% and 68% of his first and second serves, respectively.

Meanwhile, Tiafoe hit eight aces and three double faults. However, he won points on 75% and 50% of his first and second serves, respectively. Tiafoe was 1/1 in break point situations, while Shelton was 2/10.

Shelton said after the match, "We know tennis is a long journey. We're going to play each other a bunch of times. Especially, we've already played on the hard courts, we've already played twice at the US Open, and he beat me the most recent time. It's tough not to cheer for a guy like that."

Tiafoe falls to 20-16 after delivering plenty of exciting moments for his hometown fans over the past week.

Shelton improved to 26-15 and got a break as the 12th-seeded Alejandro Davidovich Fokina upset top-seeded Taylor Fritz last night. They will meet in the semifinals tonight.

This article first appeared on Serve on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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