Ben Shelton moved within one victory of ending a 23-year wait for an American men’s Grand Slam singles champion after beating Frances Tiafoe on Friday, September 11, to reach the US Open final. The 23-year-old rallied from a set down to win 4-6, 6-3, 6-3, 7-5 at Arthur Ashe Stadium. He will face Germany’s Alexander Zverev in the championship match on Sunday, September 13.
An American man has not won a Grand Slam singles title since Andy Roddick’s victory at the 2003 US Open. Shelton now has the opportunity to end that drought in his first major final, following earlier semifinal appearances in New York and at the Australian Open. Friday’s victory also carried historical significance. Shelton became the first Black American man to reach the US Open singles final since Arthur Ashe in 1972, and the first to reach a men’s singles final at any major since MaliVai Washington at Wimbledon in 1996.
Shelton’s serve helped him recover after losing the opening set. He finished with 20 aces and landed 75% of his first serves, keeping pressure on Tiafoe as he took control of the next two sets and closed out the match in the fourth. His run to the final has included a series of difficult opponents. Before facing Tiafoe, Shelton eliminated defending champion Carlos Alcaraz in a five-set quarterfinal that ended at 3:33 a.m. Wednesday. He also defeated Hubert Hurkacz, Denis Shapovalov and Stefanos Tsitsipas along the way.
Zverev presents another challenge since the German leads their previous meetings 5-0, giving Shelton a winless record against the opponent standing between him and the trophy. Zverev secured his place by beating Karen Khachanov 6-3, 7-6 (7), 7-6 (6) in Friday’s earlier semifinal. He is seeking his second Grand Slam title after winning the French Open this year.
For Tiafoe, the defeat ended another deep run at his home major. He has reached three US Open semifinals, in 2022, 2024 and 2026, but is still waiting for his first appearance in a Grand Slam final.
