Tiafoe, Michelsen, Shelton Reach US Open Men's QFs — SkimNews
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- Frances Tiafoe (No. 11 seed) beat 2021 US Open champion Daniil Medvedev 7-6(1), 6-4, 7-6(6) to reach a third US Open quarterfinal, and will face fellow American Alex Michelsen next.
- Alex Michelsen, a 22-year-old Californian, beat No. 27 Tomas Etcheverry 7-6(6), 6-4, 6-4 for his first Grand Slam quarterfinal and remains the only man yet to drop a set in the tournament.
- Ben Shelton (No. 8) beat Stefanos Tsitsipas 6-2, 6-3, 6-4 — his best performance of the tournament — to set up a quarterfinal with two-time defending champion and No. 2 seed Carlos Alcaraz, predicting "fireworks."
- Carlos Alcaraz was the lone non-American winner in Sunday's U.S.-heavy slate, beating No. 20 Tommy Paul in the afternoon; Americans won three of four men's matches that day.
- Learner Tien (No. 14) faces Karen Khachanov Monday, with a win putting four Americans in the quarterfinals — something not achieved at any major since the 1995 US Open, when Andre Agassi, Michael Chang, Jim Courier, Pete Sampras and Patrick McEnroe reached the final eight.
- Five American men reached the round of 16 for the first time since 1995, putting real pressure on the 22-year men's Grand Slam title drought since Andy Roddick's 2003 US Open win; the closest recent run came in 2022, when Taylor Fritz lost the US Open final to Jannik Sinner.
Why it matters: With three Americans already in the US Open quarterfinals and a fourth (Tien) still alive, U.S. men's tennis has its deepest major run since 1995 — converting the annual 22-year Grand Slam drought question into a genuine second-week threat, and creating the possibility of an all-American semifinal for the first time since Fritz beat Tiafoe in 2022.
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