Neither of them deserved it, but one of them had to go.

Redemption was brought.

Yes, both players are likely to continue to play prominent roles in American men’s tennis for the foreseeable future.

But Frances Tiafoe has finally earned bragging rights in this friendly rivalry and may have restored her status as one of the United States’ top hopes to break its 21-year Grand Slam drought.

The long-awaited US Open rematch between No. 13 Ben Shelton and No. 20 Tiafoe — two of the best and most popular American male players — came earlier than expected, in the third round on Friday afternoon at Arthur Ashe Stadium.

Last year, Shelton defeated Tiafoe in the quarterfinals in what would become one of the most memorable matches of the tournament.

If last year’s classic was the appetizer, Friday’s encore at 4:03 a.m. in five sets was the main course.

Shelton, only 21, and Tiafoe, 26, were nearly equal in strokes, resulting in a new result.

Tiafoe defeated Shelton 4-6, 7-5, 7-6 (7-5), 6-4, 6-3 to advance to the fourth round.

He will face the winner of the match (No. 2) Novak Djokovic-Alexei Popyrin (No. 28).

Every time it looked like Shelton was going to pull away, Tiafoe was there to fight his way back into the match.

But Tiafoe kept answering and eventually had more energy.