Shelton Outlasts Tiafoe in All-American Semifinal
Ben Shelton defeated fellow American Frances Tiafoe 4-6, 6-3, 6-3, 7-5 on Friday to reach his first Grand Slam final. The No. 8 seed, an Atlanta native, will face No. 1 seed Alexander Zverev on Sunday for the US Open title. Shelton is one win from becoming the first American man to win a Grand Slam since Andy Roddick in 2003, and the first Black American man to reach a US Open final since Arthur Ashe in 1972.[S1][S2][S3]
The semifinal was a war of attrition. The final game of the fourth set was the longest of the tournament, and multiple games lasted more than 10 minutes. Tiafoe, a Maryland native, visibly tired as the match wore on, while Shelton kept applying pressure with aces and backhand winners. It was the third meeting in four years at a major between the two: Shelton won in the 2023 US Open quarterfinals, and Tiafoe won in the 2024 third round.[S3]
A Grueling Path to the Final
Shelton's run to the final included a quarterfinal upset of defending champion Carlos Alcaraz that ended Wednesday at 3:33 a.m., the latest finish ever at the US Open. He had energy left after that match. Earlier, he defeated Tallon Griekspoor, Hubert Hurkacz, Denis Shapovalov and Stefanos Tsitsipas. Zverev, the French Open champion, reached the final by beating Karen Khachanov 6-3, 7-6 (9-7), 7-6 (8-6) in the first semifinal.[S1][S2]
Zverev has beaten Shelton before, including in the quarterfinals of the 2025 Cincinnati Open. The last American man to reach the US Open singles final was Taylor Fritz in 2024. Shelton now has a chance to go one step further and end the 23-year drought for American men's tennis.[S1][S3]
