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Shelton was the first player of this year’s tournament to play on the iconic Arthur Ashe show court, taking just over two hours to wrap up victory.<\/p>\n
The former semi-finalist is in good form, having won his first ATP Masters 1000 title at the Canadian Open earlier this month. <\/p>\n
“The US Open is the pinnacle of tennis for me and what I dreamed about as a kid,” Shelton said.<\/p>\n
“It is starting to feel like home for me.”<\/p>\n
Shelton beat Fritz in the semi-finals on his way to the title in Toronto and the two could potentially face one another in the last four in New York.<\/p>\n
But Shelton, 22, remained cautious when asked if he could go far at this year’s tournament.<\/p>\n
“As soon as you start looking ahead of yourself you stumble over your own feet so for me it is one day at a time,” he said. <\/p>\n
“We are here for the long haul and I am looking forward to it.”<\/p>\n
Fritz, who lost out to world number one Jannik Sinner in last year’s final, has also performed well in recent months.<\/p>\n
He reached the semi-finals at Wimbledon and won grass-court titles at Eastbourne and Stuttgart, putting him in the sort of form that suggests he can go far at the year’s final Grand Slam.<\/p>\n
Fritz will face either Sebastian Beez or qualifier Lloyd Harris in the second round, whilst Shelton will take on Spain’s Pablo Carreno-Busta.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n