ATP Tour

Shelton downs Tiafoe in all-American SF, into first Grand Slam final at US Open

Ben Shelton is on the cusp of Grand Slam glory at the US Open, where he is one win away from winning the biggest trophy of his career.

The eighth seed rallied past fellow American Frances Tiafoe 4-6, 6-3, 6-3, 7-5 Friday evening to reach his first major final in New York. No American man has won a Grand Slam singles title since Andy Roddick triumphed in Flushing Meadows in 2003. Shelton will now have a chance to claim his maiden major crown and end a 23-year wait for American men’s tennis Sunday, when he takes on top seed Alexander Zverev for the title.

"I am going to need you guys on Sunday," Shelton said to the crowd following his semi-final triumph. "I'm going for it here. I'm going to leave it all on the court. I hope you guys come back me. Let's do this for the USA."

Earlier in the day, Zverev defeated Karen Khachanov to reach his first US Open title match since 2020 and third major final of the season. While Zverev leads 5-0 in his Lexus ATP Head2Head series with Shelton, the American will look to play with renewed purpose in his first Grand Slam title match, with the home crowd behind him and the confidence of already upsetting defending champion Carlos Alcaraz in the quarter-finals.

The No. 9 player in the PIF ATP Rankings, Shelton will now contest his fifth final of the season, having gone 4-0 in championship matches after lifting titles in Dallas, Munich, Stuttgart and Montreal. By reaching the final in New York, the 23-year-old is now the youngest American US Open men’s finalist since a 21-year-old Roddick in 2003.

After navigating through his opening four matches with little trouble, Shelton faced his toughest test in the quarter-finals against former World No. 1 Alcaraz. The eighth seed edged the Spaniard in a five-set battle that ended at 3:33 a.m. in New York, the latest-ever finish for a match at the hard-court major before rallying past Tiafoe to move within one victory of the title.

With tennis legends in the stands, including Serena Williams, Stan Smith, Lindsay Davenport and Kim Clijsters, as well as celebrities ranging from Ben Stiller and Rami Malek to basketball star Jalen Brunson and football legend Ronaldo, both Shelton and Tiafoe enjoyed the crowd’s support. But it was the eighth seed who ultimately fed off the electric energy inside the Arthur Ashe Stadium, powering to victory in three hours and 17 minutes.

With the victory, Shelton improved to 4-1 in his Lexus ATP Head2Head series with Tiafoe, having earned two of those four wins on the hard courts in Flushing Meadows. The 23-year-old is now the 13th different American US Open finalist in the Open Era, and the first since Taylor Fritz reached the championship match in 2024, when he fell to Jannik Sinner.

"Frances is like a big brother to me," Shelton said. "Every time we take to this court together [Arthur Ashe Stadium], it is super special. This is where we want to be. At the tail end of the tournament. This is our favourite tournament and favourite court in the world. And to be able to light it up in front of you guys is the best feeling."

In Friday's clash, Tiafoe edged a tightly contested opening set after Shelton produced a double fault at 4-4, 40/AD to drop serve. Tiafoe then served out to love, sealing the set when Shelton’s backhand sailed wide on set point.

The pair then traded early breaks in the second set before Shelton capitalised on a dip in the 28-year-old’s level. At 4-3, 30/30, the eighth seed drilled a blistering backhand return winner to earn a break point, then converted immediately to move ahead 5-3. Shelton then closed out the set when Tiafoe pushed a forehand return into the net against the eighth seed’s 132 mph first serve.

In the third set, both players began trading more demanding exchanges before Shelton found an extra gear. The 23-year-old came out on top in the key rallies, highlighted by winning a 28-ball exchange at 2-2, 30/0 to carve three break points. Shelton converted his first opportunity to move ahead 3-2, then closed out the set by breaking Tiafoe’s serve for the second time at 5-3, converting his fourth set point in a marathon 15-minute game that featured seven deuces.

With a place in his first major final in sight, Shelton kept his composure in the fourth set as Tiafoe raised his level on serve. The eighth seed continued to apply pressure before finally earning a key break at 6-5, capitalising on a nervy service game from Tiafoe to seal the victory. The 23-year-old finished with 47 winners, including 20 aces, to book his place in the title match. Despite the defeat, Tiafoe, who last month reached an ATP Masters 1000 final in Cincinnati, is up four spots to No. 8 in the PIF ATP Live Rankings with his run in New York.