Eliminated star at US Open sees 149-year history end: 'It's a shame'

Ben Shelton's fourth-round victory over Stefanos Tsitsipas was met with huge cheers in New York, as it guaranteed an American in the quarter-finals. However, tennis purists at home were likely in tears. The Greek's elimination means the one-handed backhand has vanished from the Grand Slam, a first in the history of the sport's four major tournaments.

Since Wimbledon in 1877, every men's Grand Slam has featured at least one player with a one-handed backhand in their arsenal. Tsitsipas was the last man standing with this classic stroke, after Shelton had also been responsible for knocking out Denis Shapovalov, another of the modern game's rare one-handers.

For years, the one-handed backhand was dominant. Champions like Roger Federer, Stan Wawrinka, John McEnroe, Ivan Lendl, Pete Sampras, and Stefan Edberg all made the specific shot their trademark. Nowadays, nearly all players hit their backhand with two hands. Tsitsipas himself noted this with a sense of sadness after his match against Shelton at the US Open.

He was aware that his loss marked the end of a remarkable 149-year statistic in men's tennis. "I had a look. In the 1950s, 97 or 98 percent of tennis players used a one-handed backhand. Now, it's literally just two or three percent. It's such a traditional shot. It's a shame to see a shot like that disappear. But is it the end of the world that it's disappearing? No, tennis will continue as it is."

The Greek does regret that everyone seems to play the same way these days. "Tennis has become slower. You have very few diverse personalities on the court anymore. We used to have true serve-and-volley players, and everyone played differently. Now, it's just one style."