Ben Shelton beats Hubert Hurkacz in four sets to reach US Open 2026 third round

Ben Shelton needed three hours and 24 minutes, a third-set tiebreak and a late break of serve to get past Hubert Hurkacz 6-3, 5-7, 7-6(3), 7-5 in the second round of the US Open 2026 on Arthur Ashe Stadium.

The first meeting between the two big servers was every bit as tight as expected. Hurkacz, the former world No. 6, fired 14 aces to Shelton’s six. But the American was cleaner on first serve, landing 72 percent of them compared with 58 percent for the Pole, and he won 144 points to Hurkacz’s 133.

First-set break sets the tone

Ben Shelton struck first. He created early break points on return and converted one in the opening set, taking it 6-3 in 32 minutes. Hubert Hurkacz’s first-serve percentage was low, and the extra second-serve looks gave Shelton something to work with.

The Pole answered in the second set. He broke once, held his own serve with a string of aces and levelled the match at one set all, 7-5. From there the contest became a holding pattern. Both men saved break points, both produced seven-point winning streaks, and neither could string together more than three games in a row.

Tiebreak turns the match

The third set went to a breaker. Shelton took it 7-3 to move ahead two sets to one. That was the only tiebreak of the afternoon, and it proved decisive. Hurkacz still had the bigger serve, but he also finished with seven double faults to Shelton’s three. On the big points, the American’s second serve held up better (71 percent of second-serve points won against 63 percent).

The fourth set stayed on serve until the end. Hurkacz even held a break point of his own at 40-ad. Shelton wiped it away, then broke late and served out the match 7-5.

Serve battle, small margins

The numbers tell a simple story. Break points were scarce: Shelton converted 3 of 11, Hurkacz 2 of 7. Service games were the rule, not the exception. Shelton won 21 of 23 on serve; Hurkacz won 19 of 22. The difference was consistency more than raw power.

For Hurkacz, it was another second-round exit in New York. In seven previous US Open appearances, he had never gone further. For Shelton, a 2023 semifinalist here, it was a fourth straight trip at least as far as the last 32.

What comes next

Ben Shelton now waits on the winner of Denis Shapovalov and Luca van Assche in the third round. The home favourite has already shown he can recover from a slow start; he dropped the first set of his opening match against Tallon Griekspoor before winning in four, and he needed that same patience again on Wednesday.

The serve will keep winning him free points. The return, and the ability to take the few chances that appear, will decide how deep this US Open run goes.