The US Open semifinals are taking place on Friday for the men’s singles bracket and the only remaining American man, Ben Shelton, will get his time to shine ahead of the finals. The #2 seed Novak Djokovic will face unseeded Ben Shelton at 3 p.m. ET in Arthur Ashe Stadium. The match will air on ESPN and will also be available to live stream at WatchESPN.
Ben Shelton is one of the youngest males to make it to the US Open quarterfinals similar to fellow American female tennis player Coco Gauff, who has also reached the semis this year. With that being said, Shelton and Djokovic have yet to play each other, which may not come as a surprise since it is only Shelton’s second major.
Djokovic has been cementing his place in history despite being knocked out of his #1 spot by Carlos Alcaraz. On Tuesday, Djokovic reached the most grand slam semifinal appearances by a man with 47 which broke his record tie with Roger Federer after beating #9 American seed Taylor Fritz in the quarterfinals with a 6-1, 6-4, 6-4 win.
Meanwhile, Shelton took out two seeded players #14 Tommy Paul and #10 Frances Tiafoe—the first American male to reach the US Open semifinals since Andy Roddick went to the finals in 2006. No American man has reached a Grand Slam final since 2009. Could Shelton be the missing key to turning things around for the nation this year? We’ll have to wait and see.
Djokovic is the heavy favorite to win at DraftKings Sportsbook. He is installed at -1600 while Shleton is +900. The winner of this match-up will face off in the US Open final round.
How to watch Djokovic vs. Shelton
Date: Friday, September 8
Time: 3:00 p.m. ET
TV channel: ESPN, ESPN Deportes
Live stream: WatchESPN
DraftKings Sportsbook odds
Djokovic: -1600
Shelton: +900
Player to win 1st set
Djokovic: -525
Shelton: +390
Player to win at least one set
Djokovic: N/A
Shelton: Yes +130, No -175
Player games won
Djokovic: (19.5): Under -155, Over +115
Shelton: (12.5): Under -115, Over -115