One American is guaranteed to be in the US Open men’s singles final, and it will be either Ben Shelton or Frances Tiafoe.
Shelton and Tiafoe both secured a place in the penultimate stage of the tournament in New York after coming through five-set thrillers.
Tiafoe fought back from two sets down to defeat compatriot Alex Michelsen in a match lasting over four and a half hours.
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Later on in the day, Shelton dethroned defending champion Carlos Alcaraz, in what marked the biggest win of the 23-year-old’s career.
It won’t be Shelton’s first time facing Tiafoe, with the two having done battle twice before inside Arthur Ashe Stadium.
Ben Shelton’s last US Open clash with Frances Tiafoe
Shelton emerged victorious in their first US Open meeting back in 2023, triumphing in four sets in the quarterfinals before being knocked out by eventual champion Novak Djokovic.
A year later, though, Tiafoe earned his revenge when the two met in the third round of the 2024 US Open.
Shelton looked to have been closing in on a third consecutive victory over Tiafoe in their head-to-head that day when he took a two-sets-to-one lead.
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But Tiafoe, who has delivered his very best tennis at the US Open over the years, dug deep to claw his way to victory, winning 4-6, 7-5, 6-7, 6-4, 6-3 in just over four hours.
After that, Tiafoe advanced past Alexei Popyrin and Grigor Dimitrov to set up a semifinal clash with another fellow American, Taylor Fritz.
Tiafoe was 2-1 up in sets against Fritz, but couldn’t get over the line versus his countryman and bowed out in the semifinals of the US Open for the second time in three years.
He had made it to the final four in 2022 as well, but lost to Alcaraz.
What Ben Shelton said about American tennis after losing Frances Tiafoe
Despite losing the match in 2024, Shelton was happy for Tiafoe and positive about the direction American tennis was going in.
He said in his post-match press conference: “I think it’s really cool to see where American tennis is going. It’s not just me and Foe, you know, there’s four or five other guys in the mix.
“We all are going to have our moments to shine. There is peaks and valleys in this sport, for sure. I just gotta continue to improve.
“I know that this is, even though, you know, maybe I looked happy for him or excited for him after the match, it definitely lit a fire underneath me. I’m not someone who likes to lose; I hate losing.
“I’m excited to see where American tennis goes, and I’m going to continue doing my part and go back to the drawing board, you know, look at those things that I did today that I wish I hadn’t done and try to get better.”
Both Shelton and Tiafoe are looking to become the first man to win a Grand Slam singles title since Andy Roddick in 2003.
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