How Ben Shelton Stopped a Promising Qualifier Dead in His Tracks
The first round of single matches of the historical U.S. Open Tennis Championships kicked off today in Flushing Meadows in New York City, marking off the last Grand Slam tournament of the year. Showboating American favorite Ben Shelton posted a smooth, straight-set win against up-and-coming Peruvian Ignacio Buse, a qualifier, 6-3, 6-2, 6-4 in two hours and seven minutes. Shelton, a left-handed player standing at a comfortable six foot four, is currently ranked sixth in the ATP World Rankings and seeded as such within this tournament. His opponent, on the other hand, is six feet and has had an impressive 2025 so far, and is ranked 135 for his efforts, his highest ranking being 133 in July 2025. He was unseeded before his defeat to Shelton.
Game Styles and Strategies.
Shelton’s towering height affords him a devastating serve. Which is both well-known and feared, and for good reason. His left-handedness is only an added headache for all to suffer through. The American’s serves are massive and effective, but it’s not to discount other aspects of his game at all; they set him up quite nicely to dominate the rest of the court, or to defend fiercely if need be, his height and movement work in tandem to aid for superb court coverage each other like a well-oiled machine. This is a surface he understands and takes to well, there is a reason he’s done well here at the US Open previously times before.
Buse is a solid player, robust and intelligent in his own means as well. He, too, covers the court well. In fact, his court distance by feet to Shelton is almost comparable; his 6184.2 ft and Shelton’s 6148.6 ft. The Peruvian did quite well for himself, playing a perfect game when playing a giant, deep but intense groundstrokes, so as to keep the heavy-hitting American behind the baseline and constantly on the move. In addition, Buse also kept him moving side to side with those shots, so Shelton was never too good in a position to let one rip on him; every single point was hard-earned. Another admirable aspect of the Peruvian qualifier implemented was a strong net game, which highlighted just how light on his feet he was. It helped him immensely. The deep groundtrokes, accompanied by coming in to redirect anything that Shelton returned, it allowed him to control far more points than he had any right to, given Shelton’s size, power, and experience compared to Buse’s.
So What Happened?
Truly, from how I see it, a litany of factors contributed to Buse’s loss, or perhaps, Shelton’s win, depending on the angle one looks at it. An easy answer could be that Shelton’s experience overwhelmed the Peruvian, but New York’s shining lights have seen many upsets through the years; this could have been one if it were meant to be. Too many times, Buse had game chances; he even had five break points up on his opponent, and Shelton was able to pull it back every time, not allowing one to go by. Shelton is remarkably wise and adaptable, and his power is really what made a huge difference between the two. Though he had a record low amount of aces in this match, for what he might be known for, only five, he showed his might in every other aspect of the match. He was never broken once; he grinded out every rally and saw himself come out on top in the majority of them. His first service percentage left a bit wanting at 63%, but he got 35 winners to Buse’s 53% first serve percentage and 16 winners. 79% net point wins surely have a say in winning a match as well. Buse tried to do as much as he could, truly, but much like his famous celebratory action, Shelton had every answer to every call to action the qualifier had to offer.
Shelton will next face the Spaniard Pablo Carreño Busta in the second round, a match that is sure to be a nail-biter just as much as this one was. Carreño Busta is currently ranked World Number 137, and at the height of his career was ranked 10th. If the young American continues on his successful journey, he is in possibly line to meet the second-ranked, Carlos Alcaraz of Spain. Last year, Alcaraz had a shocking upset loss in last year’s US Open Tennis Championship against Dutch Botic van de Zandschulp in the second round. van de Zandschulp, currently ranked 73rd and the highest-ranked 22 in August 2022, is also competing in the Championship, is set to play Holger Rune of Denmark tomorrow in their First Round match at 3 p.m. Eastern Time.
