NEW YORK — If Frances Tiafoe hadn’t already won over the New York crowd, he certainly earned some good will Wednesday.

The tennis star arrived at his second-round match at the US Open wearing a Jalen Brunson jersey, then celebrated his victory over Alexander Shevchenko with new Knicks forward Mikal Bridges, who was sitting courtside at Arthur Ashe Stadium.

“It’s funny, I was actually trying to wear a Mikal Bridges [jersey] because he was coming to the match today, and he texted me that he was coming to the match, but I’m just not a morning person,” Tiafoe, 26, said afterward.

“I put it on, and then when I took it off to go practice, I was like, man, Jalen. But yeah, Brunson, he’s the man here. He’s damn near bigger than Jay-Z.”

Tiafoe, too, continues to make a name for himself in the Big Apple.

The American overcame mid-90s temperatures to advance to the third round of the tournament in Queens, winning 6-4, 6-1, 1-0 in a match that ended early when Shevchenko suddenly retired for the afternoon.

The victory set up a third-round match on Friday against fellow U.S. star Ben Shelton, who defeated Tiafoe in the quarterfinal of last year’s US Open. Shelton, 21, beat Roberto Bautista Agut 6-3, 6-4, 6-4 on Wednesday afternoon at Grandstand.

Tiafoe wasn’t perfect Wednesday — he committed 16 unforced errors in the shortened match, and his touch was a bit off early — but he grew stronger as the day progressed, winning nine of the final 10 games.

“I was really pleased with the way I played,” Tiafoe said. “I thought the first set could have been similar to the second. I had a lot of chances there. Started serving pretty well there at the end of the first and all the way through the second, and returned really well today, so I can’t complain.”

Behind a serve he dialed up to over 130 mph, Tiafoe recorded five aces — all in the second set.

He won 80% of his points on his first serve in that second set, compared to 58% in the first, and was well on his way to victory by the time Shevchenko exited. Shevchenko had received trainer attention during the second set.

“I’m a competitor and never want to win on retirement, but I’ll take that,” Tiafoe said. “I’m happy with the way I played and will continue to build on it.”

This year marks Tiafoe’s 10th time competing in the US Open. His best finish at Flushing Meadows came in 2022, when he advanced to the semifinal, but he lost in four sets last year to Shelton.

“That wasn’t easy,” Tiafoe said. “That wasn’t something I was pleased about by any means, and then I had a bad season after that. It’s stuff you definitely learn from. I think everything that comes in your career, all the highs and lows, it only sets you up for better moments ahead.”

Those moments included Wednesday’s victory, which Tiafoe capped by walking over to Bridges and giving him a high five and a hug.

“I’m friends with a lot of guys in the league just because I follow hoops a lot,” Tiafoe said. “I have a lot of hoop celebrations. I did [the Bridges] celebration to him after the match, and he was laughing. It’s my love for hoop, and them following me because it’s someone of color playing tennis.”

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