NEW YORK -- There's a larger contingent of Americans in the US Open men's bracket than at any time in the past quarter-century, and two of the leaders -- Taylor Fritz and Ben Shelton -- got the tournament started on Sunday with dominant performances.
Shelton, the No. 6 seed and twice a Grand Slam semifinalist, needed just 2 hours, 7 minutes to get past qualifier Ignacio Buse of Peru 6-3, 6-2, 6-4.
For the second straight year, Shelton was the opening act at Arthur Ashe Stadium in the event's debut of a Sunday start instead of Monday.
Fritz, the No. 4 seed and the runner-up to Jannik Sinner at Flushing Meadows a year ago, needed about 10 fewer minutes to move on with a 7-5, 6-2, 6-3 victory over yet another U.S. man, Emilio Nava, a wild-card entry, at Louis Armstrong Stadium.
In all, there are 23 men from the host country in the field, the most since the same number were in the draw in 1997 at what Fritz called "the most important tournament for us Americans all year." There are 25 U.S. women.
"I do think the competition among all of us," Fritz said about the men, "pushes all of us and gives us motivation to be better."
This marks the first major with two American men seeded in the top eight since the 2007 US Open (No. 5 Andy Roddick, No. 6 James Blake). They're all chasing the same prize: the first Grand Slam singles trophy for an American man since Roddick triumphed in New York in 2003.
That's quite a ways away at this point, though, especially considering that Sinner and No. 2 Carlos Alcaraz have combined to win each of the past seven major titles.
"As soon as you start looking ahead of yourself, you stumble over your own feet," said Shelton, who lost to Sinner in the Australian Open semifinals in January, to Alcaraz in the French Open's fourth round in June and to Sinner in the Wimbledon quarterfinals in July.
"This is the one, for sure," Shelton said about the US Open, where he reached the final four in 2023. "This is the pinnacle of tennis for me, what I dreamed about when I was a kid."
He produced some highlight-worthy moments Sunday while accumulating more than twice as many winners as Buse, including one swerving, around-the-post forehand that looked very much like something his idol -- another lefty, by the name of Rafael Nadal -- used to do.
Shelton won the point on 26 of 33 trips to the net and saved all five of Buse's five break chances despite finishing with only five aces -- his fewest in any major match win in his career. Since the start of 2024, Shelton is 21-0 against unseeded opponents in Slams -- the second-most such wins in that span behind only Sinner (22-0).
Fritz went 13-for-14 at the net and swept aside all four break points he faced, buoyed, he said, by "the confidence that I know I've played well here before."
Fritz has now won 22 of his past 27 matches since the conclusion of the French Open, the most wins by any player on the men's tour in that time.
Shelton and Fritz will have two days off before playing their second-round matches Wednesday. Shelton faces either Pablo Carreno Busta or Pablo Llamas Ruiz, while Fritz awaits the winner of Sebastian Baez vs. Lloyd Harris.
In other men's singles results Sunday, 18th-seeded Alejandro Davidovich Fokina of Spain beat Russian Alexander Shevchenko 6-1, 6-1, 6-2. And Czech 19-year-old Jakub Mensik, the No. 16 seed, got past Chile's Nicolas Jarry 7-6 (5), 6-3, 6-4.
Italy's Luciano Darderi, seeded 32nd, defeated Australia's Rinky Hijikata in straight sets, while Frenchman Arthur Rinderknech needed four to put away Spain's Roberto Carballes Baena 7-6 (2), 7-5, 4-6, 6-2.
Novak Djokovic faces 19-year-old Californian Learner Tien in the night session.
ESPN Research and The Associated Press contributed to this report.