‘Monumental’ quarterfinal matchup between Frances Tiafoe and Ben Shelton is set up by Tiafoe

Frances Tiafoe, who advanced to the round of eight at the US Open on Sunday, thinks his All-American quarterfinal matchup with Ben Shelton will be a “monumental moment” for tennis’ minority players.

The son of Sierra Leonean immigrants, Tiafoe defeated Australia’s Rinky Hijikata with a commanding 6-4, 6-1, 6-4 win to go to a match against Shelton, who is known for his powerful serving.

It puts the 10th seed Tiafoe on track to match or surpass his performance at the 2017 US Open, when he fell to eventual winner Carlos Alcaraz in a thrilling five-set semifinal match.

The 20-year-old Shelton, who is trained by his father, the former professional black athlete Bryan Shelton, must first be avoided.

Shelton defeated fellow countryman Tommy Paul, the 14th-seeded player, in four sets on Sunday to go to the round of eight.

It will be beneficial. The environment will be fantastic, and there will be, in my opinion, excellent representation of people of color, Tiafoe said of his most recent meeting with Shelton.

The quarterfinals include two players of color. It’s a very important time right now.

I look forward to competing against him. I hope it’s a fantastic fight.

Tiafoe, who beat Rafael Nadal to go to the semifinals last year, is looking forward to the challenge of taking on Shelton at his preferred tennis venue, Flushing Meadows’ towering Arthur Ashe Stadium.

Tiafoe described Shelton as “just an extremely loud player.” “Hits the ball hard, serves hard, serving at around 150 mph today.

He is shouting. He’s wonderful for the sport since he has a lot of enthusiasm. It’s nice to see a player like that.

“I like playing lefties, personally. I like taking on lefties. I’m going to work hard, make him play plenty of balls, and generally try to make it a pretty difficult night for him.

On Sunday, Taylor Fritz, the ninth seed, joined Tiafoe and Shelton in the round of eight.

Win or lose on Tuesday, said to Tiafoe, the outcome bodes good for American men’s tennis.

At the end of the day, all he wanted to do was play tennis and come out on top. “In the long run, I believe tennis will triumph. More significantly, an American will compete in the semifinals.