Ben Shelton overcame a slow start to defeat Frances Tiafoe 4-6, 6-3, 6-3, 7-5 on Friday night at Flushing Meadows, booking his first Grand Slam final and keeping alive the dream of ending American tennis's 23-year wait for a men's major champion.
The 23-year-old eighth seed will face top seed Alexander Zverev on Sunday after a match that carried historical weight from the opening ball. It was the first Grand Slam semifinal to feature two Black American men, and the winner became the first Black American man to reach the US Open final since Arthur Ashe in 1972.
Tiafoe, seeded 11th, started sharper. He committed just three unforced errors to Shelton's 14 in the opening set and seized the decisive break when Shelton double-faulted at 4-4, closing out the set 6-4. But Shelton composed himself quickly. Serving with new balls at 3-all in the second set, he unleashed serves clocked at 125, 144, 139 and 140 mph — the last two aces — to break clear and never look back.
Shelton's serve became a battering ram. He fired 20 aces to just three double faults and landed 75% of his first serves, a remarkable combination of power and precision. Tiafoe, by contrast, got just 57% of his first serves in, and Shelton won 62% of return points on Tiafoe's second serve, repeatedly punishing the forehand that broke down under pressure.
The pivotal moment came in the final game of the third set. Tiafoe clung to his serve in a grueling 15-minute, 20-point battle before netting a forehand to surrender the break. Shelton, a set away from the final, held his nerve through a tight fourth set and converted his second match point when Tiafoe fell behind 0-40 in the 12th game.
"This is where we want to be: at the tail end of this tournament," Shelton said after the match. "I'm going for it here, and I'm going to leave it all on the court."
The result sets up a final against Zverev, who dispatched Karen Khachanov 6-3, 7-6(7), 7-6(6) in the first semifinal. The German is aiming for his second consecutive Grand Slam title after winning the French Open, and has won 13 consecutive sets in New York. If Shelton lifts the trophy, he would become the first American man to win a Grand Slam since Andy Roddick at the 2003 US Open — a drought that began before Shelton was even born.
Shelton earned his place in the final with a quarterfinal victory over Carlos Alcaraz that ended at 3:33 a.m., the latest finish in US Open history. The star-studded crowd on Friday night, including Serena Williams, Jalen Brunson and Salma Hayek, watched two men push each other to the limit in a match that will be remembered as a milestone in American tennis.
Tiafoe, who falls to 0-3 in US Open semifinals, can take solace in a tournament that saw him rally from two sets down against Michelsen in the quarterfinals. But the night belonged to Shelton, who is now one match away from history.
Sources
- https://www.nbcnews.com/sports/tennis/ben-shelton-beats-frances-tiafoe-play-alexander-zverev-us-open-title-rcna597348
- https://www.cbssports.com/tennis/news/2026-us-open-results-ben-shelton-frances-tiafoe-semifinal-grand-slam/
