Ben Shelton aired his grievances with US Open organisers for not scheduling his five-set epic against Frances Tiafoe as a night match.

The much-anticipated all-American showdown, which was a repeat of the previous year’s quarter-final thriller, was expected by many to take place during the evening session at Arthur Ashe Stadium. However, it was slotted into the afternoon session as the second match of the day.

The intense battle lasted over four hours and had fans on the edge of their seats as Tiafoe narrowly defeated Shelton, overturning last year’s result. The marathon match caused a significant delay to the evening session, which featured Novak Djokovic, pushing it back by more than an hour.

Shelton didn’t hesitate to express his belief that their clash deserved the prime Friday night spot. He declared: “It didn’t feel like a third-round match. Felt like one of those that you play late in the two weeks. Should have been a night match, but it is what it is (smiling).

“But yeah, a great atmosphere. It was just one of those back-and-forth, back-and-forth, and I wasn’t able to capitalize on the chances I had in the end, and when he had them today, he really came through in the big moments.”

When pressed for more details, Shelton revealed that both he and Tiafoe had hoped for a nighttime slot and had even discussed it before playing.

“I know that me and Foe both definitely wanted this to be a night match,” he stated. “You know, we talked about it in the locker room, either last night or this morning, I forget.

“It was, like, yeah, even if it was on Louis, we would have rather been on that night slot. We played here at night one year ago. It feels right.”

“You know, Friday night, Ben versus Foe. I’m sure that he’s going to get a night match here in his next match probably. But yeah, it was still an unbelievable atmosphere, but I think playing at night is a little bit different and special at the US Open, for sure.”

“I’m probably just a little butt-hurt because I didn’t get to bring out my night-session kit,” he joked.

While they didn’t get the night slot they craved, Shelton and Tiafoe both put on a show which had the fans on their feet. And Shelton believes it was another significant moment as American tennis looks for a resurgence in male players competing at the very top as the 21-year wait for a Grand Slam men’s singles winner goes on.

He added: “Yeah, this is something that me and Foe spoke on continuously, and after the match last year, and obviously it’s always a little bit tougher to speak on the positives as the guy who loses, but I think big moments for our sport, for sure. Kind of just shows how far we’ve come.

“Yeah, I think it’s only going to continue to improve. I think that Foe is the best at reaching the casual sports fan in our sport, especially here in America.

“I’m sure there was more celebrities who I don’t know in the crowd than I can imagine to come watch Big Foe, and me as well, but I think that’s something that he’s kind of helped change the culture in our sport and in the last few years, and one of those things that I can look to try to do, as well.”