A historic clash between compatriots
New York hosted a semifinal unlike any other: Ben Shelton and Frances Tiafoe faced off on the hard courts of Arthur Ashe Stadium. In the end, eighth-seeded Shelton defeated 11th-seeded Tiafoe 4-6, 6-3, 6-3, 7-5 to book his place in the final. Shelton arrived at the semifinal in remarkable form: in the quarterfinal he had dispatched defending champion Carlos Alcaraz in five sets in a match that finished at 3:33 a.m. — the latest conclusion in US Open history. Tiafoe, for his part, had fought back from two sets down against fellow American Alex Michelsen on his way to the last four. The meeting between the two was a battle of fighting spirits.Tiafoe strong in the opening set, Shelton turns the match around
Tiafoe controlled the first set. He landed the decisive break in the ninth game and closed it out comfortably to take it 6-4. Shelton made 14 unforced errors in that phase and had yet to find his rhythm. From the second set onwards, however, a different Shelton emerged: he dominated on serve, finishing the match with 20 aces at a 75 percent first-serve percentage and winning 77 percent of points behind it. Tiafoe's forehand began to crack under the mounting pressure, and his first serve grew increasingly unreliable — Shelton exploited both weaknesses relentlessly as the aggressor from the baseline. He took the second and third sets 6-3 apiece.Nerves of steel seal the match
Tiafoe pushed back in the fourth set. He saved break points on his own serve and kept the match alive for long stretches. But Shelton held his nerve at the critical moments: he saved three break points in the fourth set and ultimately struck the decisive blow at 6-5, breaking to clinch the set 7-5 and the match. Only a brief interruption broke the tension: Tiafoe disputed a point with the chair umpire and had it replayed — without any bearing on the outcome. The statistics reflected Shelton's dominance over the final three sets: he won 54 percent of all points, struck 47 winners and converted 45 percent of his break points, while Tiafoe converted just 29 percent of his and was broken in 90 percent of his service games. Shelton himself held serve in 90 percent of his service games — a commanding display on his own delivery. After the match, Shelton paid tribute to his opponent in a heartfelt on-court speech, describing Tiafoe as something of an older brother to him. For Tiafoe, the consolation is that his third US Open semifinal appearance (2022, 2024, 2026) leaves him standing alone alongside Andre Agassi in that regard in this century.
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