Ben Shelton Beats Frances Tiafoe To Reach US Open Final
Ben Shelton moved into his first Grand Slam final after beating fellow American Frances Tiafoe 4-6, 6-3, 6-3, 7-5 in the US Open semifinals on Friday, keeping alive the host nation’s hopes of ending a 23-year wait for a men’s singles champion.
The eighth-seeded Shelton will face top seed Alexander Zverev in Sunday’s final, with the American seeking to become the first US man since Andy Roddick in 2003 to win a Grand Slam singles title.
“I’m going for it here, and I’m going to leave it all on the court. I hope you guys come and back me. Let’s do it for the USA,” Shelton said.
Ben Shelton Leads American Charge
Shelton had already produced one of the biggest results of his career by defeating defending champion Carlos Alcaraz in the quarterfinals, a match that finished at 3:33 a.m., the latest conclusion in US Open history.
The 23-year-old from Georgia showed no signs of fatigue against Tiafoe, recovering from a slow start to take control of the semifinal.
Tiafoe played the cleaner tennis in the opening set, committing only three unforced errors compared with Shelton’s 14. A double fault from Shelton at 4-4 handed Tiafoe the break, allowing him to close out the set.
Shelton responded by raising his serving level and eventually finished with 20 aces.
Shelton’s Serve Turns Match Around
The turning point came early in the second set when Shelton unleashed a 125 mph serve at 3-3. Tiafoe managed to get his racket to the ball but was knocked backwards in the process.
Shelton followed that with serves clocked at 144, 139 and 140 mph, with the final two producing aces as he established control.
The third set featured another dramatic stretch. Tiafoe fought desperately to hold serve in the final game, but the game lasted 15 minutes and 20 points before he sent a forehand into the net.
That gave Shelton the set and put him one away from reaching his maiden US Open final.
Tiafoe, who had reached the semifinals after overcoming fellow American Alex Michelsen from two sets down in the quarterfinals, could not produce another comeback.
“I wanted to be in a Grand Slam final. Obviously it was a big match. Ben played well tonight. Served really well tonight, which made it really tough on me,” Tiafoe said.
The defeat leaves Tiafoe 0-3 in US Open semifinals, having also lost to Taylor Fritz in 2024.
Alexander Zverev Awaits Shelton
Zverev booked his place in the US Open final by defeating Karen Khachanov 6-3, 7-6 (7), 7-6 (6).
The German has enjoyed a remarkable Grand Slam season after finally winning his maiden major title at the French Open. He subsequently reached the Wimbledon final and is now 24-2 in Grand Slam matches in 2026.
“Sometimes just things go your way and I feel like I’ve had a lot of struggles at the major level, I was so close so many times, and maybe this year God has said that this is going to be your year and just enjoy the time on the court,” Zverev said.
The world No. 1 has won 13 consecutive sets at the US Open after becoming the first top-seeded man to play five-set matches in each of his opening two rounds of a major.
Zverev Eyes Redemption In New York
Zverev will also have memories of his painful 2020 US Open final defeat to Dominic Thiem. He had led by two sets before losing in a fifth-set tiebreak.
The German arrived in New York as the top seed after Jannik Sinner withdrew because of a knee injury. He was pushed to five sets by Lorenzo Sonego and Quentin Halys in his opening two rounds, spending almost nine and a half hours on court.
Zverev admitted that he and his team even joked about his early struggles after the second round.
“That kind of sense of humor, it helped me. Moving forward, I was playing much better tennis. Obviously I have improved a little bit. Otherwise, I wouldn’t be in the US Open final,” he said.
While Zverev will attempt to add a second Grand Slam title to his collection, Shelton will carry the hopes of the home crowd into Sunday’s final as he bids to bring the US Open men’s trophy back to American hands for the first time since Roddick’s triumph in 2003.
