Ben Shelton recovered from a miserable start to defeat Tallon Griekspoor 1-6, 6-1, 7-6 (3), 6-2 in the first round of the US Open on Monday night at Arthur Ashe Stadium.
Shelton, the highest-seeded American man at No. 8, was broken three times in a 28-minute first set. He won just one game, tied for the fewest games won in a major opening set of his career.
"Started off a little bit nervous tonight but found my rhythm at some point in the second set," Shelton said in his on-court interview. "Really happy to be out here on Ashe again, this is where I feel comfortable."
Shelton was a perfect 13-for-13 in service games from the second set onward as Griekspoor fell to 0-8 in his major career vs. ATP Top-10 opponents.
Shelton will face Hubert Hurkacz in the second round. They have not played each other previously.
Also advancing for the Americans was No. 16 seed Brandon Nakashima, who defeated Sebastian Baez 6-2, 6-1, 6-0 for his ATP Tour-leading 23rd hard-court match win this season.
Nakashima was playing his 43rd career major match; the three games he dropped Monday were his fewest in any of those 43.
Another American, No. 14 seed Learner Tien, beat Nuno Borges 6-4, 6-1, 6-2.
ESPN Research and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
