Ben Shelton stops US Open match to receive medical treatment in worrying scenes

Ben Shelton sparked huge concern when he started grabbing his shoulder in pain during his third-round match at the US Open, and could not continue playing until he saw the physio. The No. 6 seed fell to the ground during a thrilling rally on match point at the end of the third set and managed to win it, but it seemed to take a toll on his body.

Leading Adrian Mannarino by two sets to one, the American started grabbing his shoulder and wincing. Shelton was in so much pain he continued to pull at it while chasing down the ball in the middle of a point, and could be heard telling his box that he'd done "something" to his shoulder.

Shelton was able to hold in his first service game, and as he and Mannarino changed ends, he asked the chair umpire to call for the physio. Players typically get to receive a medical timeout during a changeover.

But the pain was so severe that the left-handed American suddenly abandoned the second game of the set with Mannarino leading 30-15, and asked for the trainer to arrive immediately.

The 22-year-old put his head in his hands as the physio rushed to the court, and could be seen pointing out exactly what hurt. "If you can pinpoint a specific location, if he's talking about a specific hotspot, that's usually not a good sign," retired star Ryan Harrison said on Sky Sports.

"That's when you can potentially have a little muscle tear or pulled muscle, if you can be that acute of where the pain is. General shoulder soreness, it feels like you have a heavy arm, like a weight."

It's unusual for a player to be granted a medical timeout in the middle of a game, especially when their opponent is serving. But Harrison explained that it was up to the umpire's discretion, and Shelton's physical issues warranted the decision.

He continued: "This is up to the chair umpire's discretion as far as when you can take a medical timeout. Sometimes they'll make you wait until the end of the game, before your own service game.

"It's completely up to the chair umpire if he sees what he deems to be immediate cause for concern, and I think this would clearly qualify as immediate cause for concern."

After receiving a three-minute medical timeout, Shelton got up and continued playing. Mannarino held, but the American got himself on the board again before they sat down for the first changeover of the fourth set.

The physio returned to briefly massage his shoulder during the allotted changeover time, and Shelton played on, somehow managing to fire down huge serves upwards of 135mph and keep himself ahead of Mannarino on the scoreboard.

Leading 3-2 on serve, Shelton told his father and coach, Bryan, that he was feeling "the worst pain I've felt in my life." But his dad encouraged him to stand back and chip the return. The No. 6 seed took it on board and got to deuce on Mannarino's serve, but the Frenchman held on and then broke in the next game.

Shelton was in more trouble when he was made to save four set points on his serve while down 3-5. Somehow, he kept himself alive. He saved one more set point on Mannarino's serve, but the 37-year-old finally took it 6-4 to force a decider.

The American sat at his bench and was in tears as the physio rushed over again, while Bryan gestured over to quit the match. Shelton started packing his bags, and as soon as Mannarino returned from an off-court break, the home favourite officially retired from the match, leaving the court with a towel on his head.

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