Tennis fans are in for a treat in Friday's US Open semifinals. Power collides with personality in an all-American matchup pitting 11th-seeded Frances Tiafoe agains eighth-seeded Ben Shelton, a seismic battle that puts the winner on the verge of history in New York. Hours after Tiafoe pulled off the greatest comeback of his grand slam career Tuesday evening, Shelton responded with a similar Houdini act, outlasting Carlos Alcaraz in a fifth-set tiebreaker to punch his ticket into the semis.
Shelton means an American man will appear in a grand slam final for the first time since Taylor Fritz reached the 2024 US Open championship match. The larger drought remains -- no American man has won a major singles title since Andy Roddick captured the US Open in 2003. Given how long each player was on court in the quarterfinals, the athlete who musters enough energy and feeds off the crowd inside Arthur Ashe Stadium likely prevails.
"It's incredible," Shelton said after his four-hour and 28-minute marathon with Alcaraz ended at 3:33 a.m. "I always say (New York) is the greatest sports city in the world, I say that this is the greatest stadium in the world. I'm just hoping that my best friend and my sister over there don't have to be at work at 6 a.m. in three hours." Tiafoe trailed two sets to love and 3-0 in the fifth set to fellow American Alex Michelsen, who hadn't dropped a set this tournament before Tuesday's quarterfinals.
"It wasn't good, let's put it that way. It wasn't good," Tiafoe said of his slow start to the match. "Three out of five is a blessing, because you have time to get it together.
I definitely waited for the last minute." Tiafoe joined Andre Agassi as the only American men to reach three US Open semifinals this century. His trek into the semifinals means he'll be ranked inside the top-10 for the first time in three years once the rankings update after this grand slam. The righty-lefty showdown features one incredible tactician against a hard-hitting serve machine of the highest power.
Everything starts for Shelton with a serve that's nearly unreturnable when he's in rhythm. He brings overwhelming velocity and athleticism in every match, including several head-turning winners against Alcaraz during rallies that should've ended several shots prior. Tiafoe's a more calculated player, whose serve can be a weapon at times, but doesn't reach the speeds of his adversary.
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