Neither deserved to resign, but one of them had to.
Redemption has been made.
Yes, both players are likely to remain at the forefront of American men's tennis for the foreseeable future.
But Francis Tiafoe has finally earned bragging rights in this friendly rivalry and reclaimed his place as perhaps America's best hope of ending its 21-year Grand Slam winless streak.
The highly anticipated U.S. Open rematch between two of the best and most popular American men's players, world No. 13 Ben Shelton and world No. 20 Tiafoe, came sooner than expected on Friday afternoon in the third round at Arthur Ashe Stadium.
Last year, Shelton defeated Tiafoe in the quarterfinals in one of the tournament's most memorable matches.
If last year's classic was the appetizer, Friday's five-set encore at 4:03 p.m. was the main course.
Shelton, just 21, and Tiafoe, 26, were nearly evenly matched shot for shot, ending with a new result.
Just over four hours. Charles Wenzelberg
Tiafoe defeated Shelton 4-6, 7-5, 7-6 (7-5), 6-4, 6-3 to reach the fourth round.
He will face the winner of the match between Novak Djokovic (world number 2) and Alexei Popyrin (world number 28).
Every time Shelton tried to pull away, Tiafoe fought his way back into the match.
But Tiafoe kept answering, eventually becoming even more energized.
