Ben Shelton cruised into the third round of the US Open with a straight-sets win against Pablo Carreno, but he was handed a rough ride by a familiar face in the press conference that followed.The world No. 5 beat his Spanish opponent 6-4, 6-2, 6-4 inside Louis Armstrong Stadium on Wednesday, before girlfriend Trinity Rodman crashed his late-night media availability.Shelton was caught off guard as girlfriend Rodman crashed his press conferenceUS OpenHe put his head in his hands as she joked about his serve“It was an electric atmosphere. This is the one tournament that is all about the fans and their energy and passion for the sport,” a composed Shelton said, initially fielding a number of questions from the reporters in the room.But he was then caught off guard by USWNT soccer star Rodman, who raised her hand with one final query.“How did it feel not being able to serve faster than 135 (mph) today?” the daughter of NBA icon Dennis asked playfully, as Shelton let out a laugh before putting his head in his hands.He then responded, ‘Why did you give her a question?’ before Rodman quickly followed up: “I know you like to serve big, and it wasn’t breaking 140 today.”Shelton, with a grin on his face, then composed himself and said: “Yeah, it was cold outside.“I think that was the main reason. I was focused on hitting spots and I didn’t hit those spots.“Maybe I should have served bigger. Something I’ll definitely work on next time.“Gosh, they’ll let anyone in the room at this point, huh?”Shelton chasing US No.1 spotAfter successfully navigating a second round clash with Carreno, and the press conference that followed, Shelton is chasing down Taylor Fritz in a bid to become the No. 1 American player before the US Open concludes.He moved within 95 points of world No. 4 Fritz with Wednesday’s win, and next faces French veteran Adrian Mannarino in the third round.Shelton is chasing down Fritz in a bid to be the US No.1 playerGettyShelton is set to meet 2022 US Open champion Carlos Alcaraz in the quarter-finals, should both players get there.Despite suggesting he ‘didn’t hit spots’ in a playful exchange with Rodman, the 22-year-old star has been in fine form through the early rounds of his home Grand Slam.He bullied Ignacio Buse in his first match, playing close to the net and relying on his big serve, while also saving all five break points he faced.Against one-time US Open semi-finalist Carreno, he hit 42 winners, which included an impressive cross-court backhand passing shot on match point.Given Shelton went out in the third round of last year’s tournament, he has huge potential to make rankings gains if he can go deeper in 2025, and Fritz might not be able to avoid being overhauled unless he repeats his effort from last season to make the final.How long have Shelton and Rodman been dating?As Shelton bids to end the summer as America’s top-ranked tennis star, girlfriend Rodman will no doubt be in the stands cheering him on.Rodman has been in the stands supporting Shelton in recent monthsGettyThe couple went ‘Instagram official’ with their relationship in MarchInstagram: @bensheltonRodman playfully crashed her partner’s US Open press conference on WednesdayUS OpenShe was regularly seen at Wimbledon a few months ago, where she called out broadcasters for referencing her famous father, and has been courtside in New York too.The pair first hinted that they were ‘shooting their shot’ with one another in a TikTok trend in March 2025, before Shelton hard-launched their relationship days later, by sharing a number of snaps on his Instagram.He has recently opened up about the support they offer each other as their relationship plays out in the public eye.“I think it’s really cool for both of us to be able to see each other in our respective sports and, you know, witness what it takes and how difficult it is to stay at the top,” Shelton told Vogue. “The soccer life, the US Women’s national team, it was all kind of new to me, and I’ve enjoyed the opportunity to get to know it – and to know more about her life in it.“If there’s shared advice, I think it’s definitely about the mental stuff — not skills, exactly.“But the mental toughness and perseverance, and dealing with the difficulties that come up — I think that’s one and the same across all sports, actually.”Stay up to date with the latest from tennis across all platforms – follow our dedicated talkSPORT USA Facebook page and subscribe to our talkSPORT USA YouTube channel for all the offseason news, interviews and more.