By Hanlon Walsh
Ben Shelton will be the top seed as he makes his River Oaks debut at the 2024 Fayez Sarofim & Co. U.S. Men’s Clay Court Championship. Shelton is one of four Americans to be seeded in the draw that was made Friday evening. VIEW DRAW
The 21-year-old American is the top seed at an ATP event for the second time this season. An NCAA champion at the University of Florida, he has burst onto the pro scene last season, reaching the Australian Open quarterfinals and the US Open semifinals before claiming his first career title in Tokyo. Shelton’s father and coach, Bryan, will be a familiar face around River Oaks, where he was the 1992 champion.
Joining Shelton among the American seeds are defending champion Frances Tiafoe, who is No. 3 seed, fifth seed Chris Eubanks and No. 7 seed Marcos Giron. Tiafoe, who won four matches in two days to claim the title last April, went on to win the title in Stuttgart later in 2023 to bring his career trophy haul to three. Shelton and Tiafoe will receive first round byes along with No. 2 seed Francisco Cerundolo and No. 4 Tomas Martin Etcheverry, last year’s runner-up. The quartet of Team US seeds are part of a group of 10 Americans in the 28-player field.
Main draw play will begin Monday, following a two-round qualifying tournament over the weekend that will add four players to the field.
