Shelton Beats Tiafoe to Reach US Open Final vs. Zverev — SkimNews
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- Ben Shelton defeated Frances Tiafoe 4-6, 6-3, 6-3, 7-5 in the US Open semifinals, hitting 20 aces and sealing the win with a 15-minute, 20-point game in the final game of the third set.
- Alexander Zverev beat Karen Khachanov 6-3, 7-6(7), 7-6(6) in the first semifinal and carries a 5-0 career record against left-handed Shelton into Sunday's final, though the two have never met in a major.
- Shelton became the first Black American man to reach a US Open final since Arthur Ashe in 1972 and the first at any Grand Slam since MaliVai Washington at Wimbledon in 1996.
- A Shelton victory Sunday would end the United States' 22-year men's Grand Slam drought, dating to Andy Roddick's 2003 US Open title, and would mark just the second time in 20 years two first-time Slam champions won in the same year (after Wawrinka/Cilic in 2014).
- Shelton, the 2022 NCAA singles champion at Florida, is the first former college player to reach a major final since John McEnroe at the 1984 US Open; former college players have lost 11 straight major finals since.
- Shelton is assured of climbing to a career-high No. 4 in the ATP rankings Monday — the highest-ranked former college player since Harvard's James Blake held No. 4 in January 2007.
- The semifinal was preceded by a ceremony marking the 25th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, with a star-studded crowd that included Serena Williams, Jalen Brunson, Shelton's girlfriend Trinity Rodman, Salma Hayek, Ben Stiller and Rami Malek.
Why it matters: A Shelton win would end the United States' 22-year men's Grand Slam drought and lift him to a career-high No. 4 ranking — the highest for a former college player since James Blake in January 2007 — while also breaking an 11-final losing streak for ex-NCAA players that stretches back to McEnroe's 1984 US Open title.
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