Frances Tiafoe comes back against Alex Michelsen and reaches the US Open semifinals for the third time
Frances Tiafoe reached his third US Open semifinal after one of the most dramatic matches of this year's tournament in New York. The American tennis player, the tournament's 11th seed, defeated compatriot Alex Michelsen 5:7, 3:6, 7:5, 6:3, 7:6 after four hours and 38 minutes of play at Arthur Ashe Stadium. According to the official US Open report, Tiafoe recovered from a two-set deficit and then from 0:3 down in the deciding fifth set before settling the match in the extended tie-break by a score of 10:6. Michelsen served for the match at 5:4 in the third set but failed to close it out, opening the door to a complete turnaround. With the victory, Tiafoe once again confirmed that the New York Grand Slam holds a special place in his career.
The quarterfinal played on September 8 was the first meeting between the two Americans at that stage of the men's tournament this year, but in terms of its course it resembled an endurance test more than a conventional match in which the favorite gradually takes control. Michelsen, a 22-year-old who had reached a Grand Slam quarterfinal for the first time in his career, played from the start without visible nerves and was the better player for a long time. The US Open states that he broke serve six times in Tiafoe's first 12 service games, combining aggressive baseline shots with well-timed approaches to the net. Tiafoe only managed to change the rhythm and impose a different dynamic late in the third set. From that moment, the match turned into a multi-hour battle in which every game carried increasing psychological weight.
Michelsen was one step away from victory
The first two sets offered a very clear picture of the balance of power. Michelsen was more consistent on return, put pressure on Tiafoe's serve more often and took advantage of the opportunities that opened up for him. He won the first set 7:5, and in the second he increased the pressure further and took an overall 2:0 lead in sets after 6:3. For Tiafoe, the situation became even more complicated in the third set, when Michelsen reached 5:4 and served for a place in his first Grand Slam semifinal. According to the tournament's official report, it was precisely then that Tiafoe made the crucial break, losing only one point in the game, after which he won 17 of the final 22 points of the set. That run not only brought him a 7:5 set and kept him in the match, but completely changed the psychological balance between the two players.
From Tiafoe's perspective, that moment was the turning point of the entire match. After the match, he said that in tennis there is sometimes a very narrow window in which one point can change everything that follows, and that was exactly what happened against Michelsen. Instead of the match ending in three sets, Tiafoe got another chance and began playing with more energy, while Michelsen for the first time had to respond to a serious decline in his own control of the contest. The fourth set ended 6:3 for Tiafoe, leveling the score after more than three hours of play. During that part of the match, the crowd at Arthur Ashe Stadium became an increasingly vocal factor, and Tiafoe later emphasized that the energy from the stands helped him stay in the fight.
Michelsen nevertheless did not collapse. In the fifth set, he once again quickly gained the advantage and went 3:0 ahead, putting Tiafoe under enormous pressure once more. But the 28-year-old American again found a way back, broke in the fifth game and brought the match back on serve. There were no more decisive breaks of serve by the end of the set, so the winner was decided in a match tie-break to ten points. Tiafoe was the first to establish a more significant advantage there, and the tournament's official data show that after the mini-break for 3:2 he was never behind on the scoreboard again. He finished the tie-break 10:6 and, after almost four hours and 40 minutes, completed one of the biggest comebacks of his career.
Third semifinal in New York in five years
Reaching the last four carries additional significance because of Tiafoe's history at the US Open. He first reached the semifinals in 2022, when he eliminated Rafael Nadal in the round of 16, then defeated Andrey Rublev in the quarterfinals, before losing to Carlos Alcaraz in five sets in the semifinals. Two years later he was again among the final four, but Taylor Fritz stopped him in another five-set match. Now, according to the tournament's official data, Tiafoe is the tenth American tennis player in the Open Era to reach the US Open men's singles semifinals at least three times. All three of his Grand Slam semifinals have come in New York.
Tiafoe entered this year's tournament as the 11th seed and the world No. 12, and his path to the semifinals was not entirely straightforward. He had to play five sets against Martin Damm in the first round, but after that he raised his level and did not lose a set in three consecutive matches. He defeated Rei Sakamoto, Valentin Vacherot and former US Open champion Daniil Medvedev. The victory over Medvedev in the round of 16 was particularly notable because Tiafoe achieved it in three sets and thus ended a losing streak in their ATP-level head-to-head meetings. The quarterfinal against Michelsen then required a completely different type of performance: not control from start to finish, but endurance and the ability to survive in a situation in which his opponent was on the verge of victory.
His form in 2026 further explains why this result is not an isolated flash. On September 9, the US Open reported that Tiafoe at that point had a season record of 41 wins and 16 losses and 25 victories on hard courts, the most among players on the ATP Tour. Immediately before the US Open, he also reached the final of the major tournament in Cincinnati, where he lost to Arthur Fils. Such results show that he arrived at the final Grand Slam of the season with a level of consistency he had not always had in previous years. In New York, that consistency was combined with an environment in which he traditionally produces some of his best results.
Emotions after the final point
One of the most striking scenes came after the match ended. Instead of a long celebration, Tiafoe quickly approached Michelsen, who was visibly devastated after the missed opportunity, and hugged him across the net. The official US Open website states that Michelsen cried on the shoulder of his older compatriot, with whom he also has a good relationship off the court. Tiafoe later explained that he understands very well how painful a defeat in a big five-set match can be and told the younger player that such opportunities would come again. Michelsen said at the press conference that Tiafoe's personal words affected him precisely because they came from someone he holds in extremely high regard.
For Michelsen, the defeat is particularly painful because he had reached the quarterfinals without losing a set. According to US Open data, he won the first 14 sets he played at the tournament before Tiafoe turned their quarterfinal around and took the final three. In New York, he had previously defeated Federico Cinà, Brandon Nakashima, Daniel Mérida and Tomás Martín Etcheverry, reaching the last eight at a Grand Slam for the first time. Against Tiafoe, he showed that he can dominate large parts of a match on the biggest stage, but also how thin the line is between historic success and painful defeat. Michelsen himself did not hide his disappointment after the match, but emphasized that he believes he will find himself in a similar opportunity again.
Tiafoe, on the other hand, described his comeback as a victory of endurance and fighting spirit. The tournament's official statistical review shows that he hit seven aces in the deciding set, after having only three in total in the first four sets. That detail illustrates well how, under the greatest pressure, he managed to find an additional level of quality on serve. In 2026, he now has a 6:1 record in deciding tie-breaks, further emphasizing his effectiveness in the closing stages of tight matches. With the victory over Michelsen, he also recorded his ninth win in his last ten matches against American opponents on Tour.
Ben Shelton awaits in the semifinals
Tiafoe will fight for his first Grand Slam final on September 11 against Ben Shelton, who defeated defending champion Carlos Alcaraz in the other quarterfinal at Arthur Ashe Stadium. Shelton won 6:7, 6:1, 6:3, 1:6, 7:6 in a match that lasted four hours and 28 minutes and ended at 3:33 a.m. local time. According to the US Open, it was the latest finish to a match in tournament history. Shelton sealed the victory with an ace on match point, and the result gave him the first win of his career against a player ranked in the world's Top 3. It also confirmed an all-American semifinal in the bottom half of the draw.
For American men's tennis, that match carries additional historical significance because the winner of the Tiafoe-Shelton clash is guaranteed to play in the US Open final. The tournament's official website notes that the last American winner of the men's singles title in New York was Andy Roddick in 2003, when he defeated Juan Carlos Ferrero in the final. Since then, no American tennis player has won a men's Grand Slam title, although Taylor Fritz reached the 2024 US Open final before losing to Jannik Sinner. The semifinal between Tiafoe and Shelton is therefore not only a battle for an individual result, but also a continuation of the attempt by a new generation of American players to end a streak that has lasted more than two decades.
Tiafoe enters that match after an extremely physically demanding quarterfinal, but also with confirmation that he can find a way out of situations in which defeat appears practically inevitable. His success against Michelsen was only the third time in his career that he had won a Grand Slam match after losing the first two sets, and two of those victories came during 2026. The US Open states that earlier this season he also produced such a comeback at Roland Garros against Jaime Faria. It is an important indicator of a change in his ability to remain competitive even when a match takes the most difficult possible course. In New York, he will now need another top-class performance to cross the semifinal barrier for the first time after it stopped him in 2022 and 2024.
For Michelsen, the tournament ends with a defeat that will be remembered for a long time, but also with the best Grand Slam result of his career so far. For Tiafoe, the story continues, at a place where he has already played some of his best tennis several times. After coming back from 0:2 in sets, saving the match in the third set and falling behind again in the fifth, he reached the semifinals in a way that further strengthens his status as one of the biggest favorites of the New York crowd. The next challenge will be different: Shelton arrives after his own marathon and a victory over the defending champion, with a place in the final of one of the four biggest tournaments in the world at stake. After everything that happened in the quarterfinal, Tiafoe enters that battle with very clear proof that even the most difficult possible course of a match does not have to knock him out of the tournament.
Sources:
- US Open - official report on the Tiafoe-Michelsen quarterfinal, the course of the match and the key turnarounds (link)
- US Open - statements from Tiafoe and Michelsen after the match and a description of their emotional meeting at the net (link)
- US Open - statistical review of Tiafoe's 2026 season and his results on hard courts (link)
- US Open - official report on Ben Shelton's victory over Carlos Alcaraz and confirmation of the semifinal against Tiafoe (link)
- US Open - historical context of the most recent American men's winners and finalists in New York (link)