Frances Tiafoe is looking forward to taking part in men’s doubles action alongside compatriot Ben Shelton at the 2025 Mubadala Citi DC Open in Washington. Tiafoe and Shelton are regarded as two of the most entertaining players on the ATP Tour, and the two have previously produced some thrilling singles matches when playing against each other, most notably at the 2023 and 2024 editions of the US Open.
At a pre-tournament press conference in Washington, Tiafoe was asked about his thoughts on playing men’s doubles with Shelton at the ATP 500 event. In response, the two-time US Open semifinalist laid bare his ‘love’ for his 22-year-old compatriot and spoke up about their similar sense of humor and mannerisms.
“I love Ben, man. We’ve had incredible battles and became incredibly close the last few years. Our humor, our mannerisms is very much the same,” he said.
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Going on to assess how the Washington crowd is going to react to him and Ben Shelton playing together, Frances Tiafoe added:
"And the crowd's going to go nuts. We just practiced just now and we couldn't even get out the court. The crowds are going to go absolutely nuts. I'm super excited to get out there with him and we're going to go for it."
The ATP No. 11 also was also hopeful about his and Shelton's respective singles campaigns at the tournament.
"We're going to try pretty hard and try to win some matches out here, both singles and doubles. So it's going to be really fun," Tiafoe concluded.
The all-American duo is set to begin their doubles campaign in Washington against the all-Australian pair of John Peers and Matthew Ebden. Meanwhile, in singles, Tiafoe, the No. 6 seed, will play his opening match in the second round against the winner of the first-round clash between Quentin Halys and Aleksandar Kovacevic. Shelton, the No. 4 seed, will begin his own singles campaign against either wildcard Mackenzie McDonald or qualifier Colton Smith.
"Just highlight after highlight" - Frances Tiafoe after winning US Open 2024 3R thriller against Ben Shelton
Prior to their third-round match at last year's US Open, Frances Tiafoe had played two and lost both against Ben Shelton, with one of those losses coming in the quarterfinals at Flushing Meadows in 2023. However, Tiafoe managed to exact revenge at the 2024 US Open, but only just, as he won a memorable five-setter. Later, he reflected on his victory against Shelton, saying:
"Ben’s an incredible player man, he really is. He goes for all kinds of shots, he’s got no care in the world, it’s really annoying. He’s got a great serve and he has great energy out here. He can come up with great shots, so can I. We both move really well, so it’s just highlight after highlight. I really hope you guys enjoyed the show, four hours of this battle."
At the 2025 Mubadala Citi DC Open in Washington, Frances Tiafoe and Ben Shelton could face each other in the quarterfinals if they both reach the last eight.
