All-American Semifinal Sets Up Shot at Ending US Tennis' 23-Year Drought

For the first time since 2002, an American man is guaranteed a spot in the US Open final. On Friday afternoon, eighth-seeded Ben Shelton will face 11th-seeded Frances Tiafoe at Arthur Ashe Stadium in an all-American men's semifinal, the latest chapter in a rivalry the two have carried since their junior days.

The stakes go beyond a single match. No American man has won a Grand Slam singles title since Andy Roddick's 2003 US Open championship, a drought now stretching 23 years. Whoever wins Friday will reach Sunday's final and guarantee the country's first male Grand Slam finalist since Taylor Fritz's run to the 2024 US Open final.

Both men arrived at the semifinal through marathons. Shelton outlasted defending champion Carlos Alcaraz in a five-set quarterfinal that did not end until 3:33 a.m. Wednesday — the latest finish in US Open history — winning 6-7(5), 6-1, 6-3, 1-6, 7-6(7) behind a serve that touched 146 mph. Tiafoe, meanwhile, erased a two-set deficit and survived a 3-0 fifth-set hole against fellow American Alex Michelsen in a match that ran nearly five hours, part of a tournament in which six American men reached the quarterfinals, the most since 2002.

Tiafoe, competing in his third US Open semifinal this decade, has joined Andre Agassi as one of the only American men to reach that stage three times since 2000. A win Friday would also carry broader historical weight: reporting from ABC News notes it would make Tiafoe the first Black American man to reach a US Open final since Arthur Ashe in 1972, and the first to reach any major final since Wimbledon runner-up MaliVai Washington in 1996.

Shelton leads their head-to-head series, though their most recent Grand Slam meeting — a five-set battle at the 2024 US Open — went to Tiafoe. The two have also partnered in doubles and are close off the court, a friendship that has not dulled the intensity of Friday's stakes. "The most enjoyable match that I've had in my career, for sure," Shelton said of his quarterfinal win, a preview of the atmosphere expected at Ashe.

In the tournament's other semifinal, top-seeded Alexander Zverev faces Karen Khachanov, with Zverev holding a 6-3 career edge in their tenth meeting. Zverev, the 2026 French Open champion, is chasing a second major title of the season and has reached the semifinals or better at all four Grand Slams in 2026. Khachanov, unseeded, is into his third career major semifinal after gritty wins over Felix Auger-Aliassime and Learner Tien.

Both men's semifinals are scheduled for Friday, with the first match beginning no earlier than 3 p.m. ET and the second at approximately 7 p.m., airing on ESPN and ESPN Deportes. The winners meet Sunday for the championship, with the Shelton-Tiafoe survivor entering as the far more heavily favored finalist given the depth of experience each man has accumulated at Flushing Meadows this fortnight.

Win or lose Friday, both Americans have already reshaped this year's tournament narrative, pushing aside a men's draw depleted by Novak Djokovic's shock first-round exit and Jannik Sinner's withdrawal. For US tennis, still searching for its first male major champion since the Bush administration, Friday's outcome offers the clearest opportunity in years to end the wait on home soil.