Ben Shelton and Taylor Fritz get the American men off to a strong start at the US Open

NEW YORK (AP) — There's a larger contingent of Americans in the U.S. Open men's bracket than at any time in the past quarter-century. Might be the best crop in nearly that long , too, 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 in the first contest in Arthur Ashe Stadium on 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 Armstro