Adrian Mannarino is a nasty gnat. He is basically like the rest of us tennis players who love the sport but will never win a Grand Slam. Only, he is the best of us. He is an amazingly smart player who doesn't hit hard, puts hardly any spin on the ball, but knows how to position himself.
As great as players like Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz are, they don't have the tennis IQ of Mannarino. They don't need to. They can outhit opponents, just as Ben Shelton can sometimes. Alcaraz and Sinner are better than Shelton, but the trio is of one kind.
Not Mannarino. He doesn't try to overpower anyone, yet has an innate ability to return powerful shots somehow. He is like the human net return. You might not want it to come back, but many times it does.
Ben Shelton unable to finish third round US Open match versus Adrian Mannarino
The Frenchman is 37 years old, has not sniffed a Masters 1000 or Grand Slam title, and is still feisty. He is the last player you would want to face in your men's B division, and he is often the last player a great ATP player wants to take on.
Shelton won their most recent head-to-head match relatively easily at the Canadian Open. In the previous two meetings between the players, Mannarino won both. In other words, neither player lost confidence against the other entering the match.
Ben Shelton is powerful. Adrian Mannarino is the smarter player currently. The US Open third-round match was one made in heaven for tennis fans.
Shelton seemed to be on his way to a fourth-round match after taking the first set 6-3. Mannarino was playing well, but the American was overpowering. That didn't last long as Mannarino's metronomic capabilities got him the second set 6-3. Shelton got the break he needed to take set three 6-4, but the match still didn't feel controlled.
Issues for Ben Shelton had been compounded deep in the fourth set after he had needed a medical timeout for some kind of left shoulder issue. He is left-handed, so any problems with the limb are magnified. He didn't lose any speed off his forehand or serve, but he was still aggravated by the problem.
After Mannarino forced his way to a fifth set, Ben Shelton got all the advice he needed from his father and coach, Brian: Stop. Shelton retired ahead of the fifth set, sending Adrian Mannarino into the fourth round, his best result ever at the US Open. Hopefully, Shelton's injury will not be long-lasting.
Mannarino will next play Jiří Lehečka in the round of 16. That should be a fun match pitting a seasoned and smart veteran against an up-and-coming player.