Adrian Mannarino Wins US Open Match ‘From the Toilets’ After Injury Forces Opponent Ben Shelton to Retire

Adrian Mannarino was not on the court when he learned he won a high-stakes Men’s Singles match against Ben Shelton on day six of the US Open on Friday, Aug. 29.

Mannarino, 37, joked to the crowd at Louis Armstrong Stadium that it was his “first time winning the match from the toilets” after Shelton, 22, was forced to retire after being injured.

“When he started to have pain, he was leading. Honestly, he probably would have won that match. It’s unfortunate for him and very lucky for me, but I don’t really know what to say. I’m happy to get through. I wish him the best, of course,” the French tennis pro continued.

Shelton had to retire from his third-round match with Mannarino with the score level after over two hours and 45 minutes of intense back-and-forth tennis, which appeared to physically over exert him and cause an injury to his shoulder.

At first, Shelton returned to the court following a medical timeout. He grabbed his left side one more time as Mannarino served for the fourth set, but had to retire shortly after.

Shelton’s father and coach, Bryan Shelton, signaled to him that he had to quit, per The Athletic.

“I was having good fun on the court, really long rallies, losing some and winning some. It was a pretty cool match to play. Ben is playing really well. He kicked my a– at the beginning of the summer and he is such an amazing player,” Mannarino said of the young U.S. tennis pro.

“I never retired before,” Shelton said during a press conference after the match. “I’m not a guy who would retire if I could continue.”

He elaborated on his experience playing Mannarino.

“Yeah, he’s a great player. Sometimes tough to find answers against him. He just seemed to not have any holes. He returns really well. He has a different serving style that makes it difficult to deal with. Yeah, he’s a great player. Had a lot of battles with him.”

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In spite of his first time retiring from the court, Shelton said he has “a lot to be grateful for.”

“You know, a small setback like this, yeah, it hurts. I was playing really well, I was in form, a lot of confidence. Just so many things to be happy with the way that I was playing, moving on the court, competing. But like I said, it’s been a great summer, a lot of things to be thankful for,” Shelton said.

Shelton vowed to stay positive.

“You won’t hear me over here pouting about how bad things are with the summer that I’ve had, the things that I’ve been able to do in this sport in a short amount of time and the people I got around me, like I said, a lot of blessings,” he told reporters.

The U.S. Open kicked off on Aug. 24 and will conclude on Sept. 7 at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Queens, N.Y.