Zverev

NEW YORK: Big-serving Ben Shelton overpowered US compatriot Frances Tiafoe in four sets on Friday to reach the first Grand Slam final of his career, booking a US Open title showdown with Alexander Zverev.

Eighth-seeded Shelton blasted 20 aces on his way to a thrilling 4-6, 6-3, 6-3, 7-5 victory on the Arthur Ashe Stadium court.

Top seed Zverev held off 50th-ranked Russian Karen Khachanov 6-3, 7-6 (9/7), 7-6 (8/6) to reach his third straight Grand Slam final – a run that delivered his maiden major at the French Open and saw him finish runner-up at Wimbledon.

Shelton – who took down defending champion Carlos Alcaraz in the quarter-finals – will now have the chance to become the first American man to win a Grand Slam title since 2003, when Andy Roddick triumphed at the US Open.

“It’s a lot of emotion,” Shelton said in an on-court interview. “My dad, my mom have sacrificed a lot for me to be in this position today. My dad lost his mom earlier this year, and she’s the reason that he was able to play tennis.

“Without her, there’s no Ben Shelton standing here today. So this one is for her. And I’m gonna need you guys on Sunday to bring the energy. I’m going for it. I’m gonna leave it all on the court.”

Zverev is eager for the chance to play spoiler.

“Hopefully I can not make the American dream come true on Sunday,” the German said.

The pulsating all-American semi-final played out in front of a star-studded crowd, with tennis legends including Serena Williams, Stan Smith and Lindsey Davenport on hand along with actors Ben Stiller and Rami Malek and New York Knicks star Jalen Brunson.

Tiafoe claimed the first set after Shelton uncharacteristically double-faulted to trail at 5-4.

They traded breaks early in the second, but Shelton took advantage of Tiafoe’s increasingly erratic serve to break for a 5-3 lead and level the match.

The momentum was all with Shelton, who broke for a 3-2 lead then seized the set with a break in a marathon ninth game that went to deuce seven times.

The tension was mounting in the fourth set, but Shelton kept his composure as Tiafoe raised his level and gained the crucial break in the final game.

On Sunday he’ll be up against an experienced opponent in Zverev, who after laboring through two five-setters to open the tournament has steadily upped his game.

‘Anything but straightforward’

Zverev doused Khachanov’s hopes of reaching a first Grand Slam final, although the Russian – who fell to Zverev in the Olympic gold medal match in Tokyo in 2021 – put up a spirited challenge in the second and third sets.

“Straight-set win, but anything but straightforward,” Zverev said. “He played incredibly well, fought incredibly well.”

Khachanov denied Zverev on two set points in the second set tiebreaker with a thumping forehand and a brilliant backhand down the line before Zverev closed out the set.

Neither player mustered a break point in a tense third set. But when Khachanov took a 6-4 lead in the tiebreaker he surrendered both set points with forehand errors. Zverev came up with his 15th ace and sealed the win when Khachanov sent a forehand long.

“Second and third set I think it’s more than obvious that they could have gone both ways,” Zverev said. “I just played a few points better here and there.”

A somber note was struck during the national anthem ceremonies of both the day and night sessions on the 25th anniversary of the September 11 attacks that brought down the twin towers of the World Trade Center in New York.

“It’s a difficult day to be out here playing,” Shelton said in his remarks to the crowd. “My thought and payers go out to all the families affected by 9/11.”

The women’s final is on Saturday, when Kazakhstan’s Elena Rybakina will try to deny Aryna Sabalenka a third straight title just days after ending the Belarusian’s near two-year reign atop the world rankings by reaching the semi-finals.

In the evening session, with a star-studded crowd watching on, it was over to Shelton and Tiafoe to provide the entertainment – and they did not disappoint.

The pair combined for 74 winners, with 47 coming from the racquet of Shelton, who also sent down 20 aces as he backed up a stunning quarter-final win over Carlos Alcaraz with another memorable showing.

He won 77% points behind his first serve, while successfully targeting the second serve of Tiafoe, winning 62% of points when he opponent failed to land a first serve.

Shelton signalled his intent with an ace hammered down the T to start the match as the pair went at each other from the outset.

While an early break-point chance passed Tiafoe by, the 11th seed continued to threaten the Shelton serve and, aided by a double fault, broke for 5-4 before serving out the set.

Shelton wasted no time in mounting his comeback in the second, though, as he lasered a forehand down the line to break to love for a 2-0 lead.

Although Tiafoe broke back immediately, Shelton remained in the ascendancy and the pressure told as he broke to lead 5-3 before seeing out the set.

The third set included a number of scintillating rallies, Tiafoe coming out on top after 31 shots back and forth to stave off a break point – only for his opponent to hit a winner at the end of a 28-shot rally to break a couple of games later.

Shelton broke again at the end of a gruelling 15-minute game to take a two-sets-to-one lead.

The chance to regroup and take a breather between sets resulted in a refreshed Tiafoe mounting an early attack in the fourth, but he failed to convert two break points in the opening game, Shelton got his chance at 6-5 and brought up three match points.

Shelton netted on the first of them, but that was the last shot he played as a Tiafoe double fault gave a thrilling contest a rather tame end.

Blockx’s dream run in New York ended in cruel fashion earlier on Wednesday as the Belgian was forced to retire after suffering a series of injuries in his quarter-final against Khachanov.

Playing in his first Grand Slam quarter-final, the 21-year-old first received medical treatment for a blister on his foot before struggling with a back issue.

“I think today my body just gave up,” said Blockx, who had come close to retiring from his fourth-round win against Francisco Cerundolo with a rib injury.

“During the match, it was quite funny to me. I just had to laugh it off because it was just something new the whole time.

“I felt it was getting worse and worse. I couldn’t land without feeling pain, without feeling my back, my ribs. So I just didn’t want to yeah, maybe make it worse to miss the entire season.”

Khachanov wished Blockx a “speedy recovery” after he secured his place in a Grand Slam semi-final for the first time since the Australian Open in 2023.

A former world number eight, a disappointing run of results over the past few months have resulted in Khachanov’s ranking dipping to 50 and he is unseeded at a major for the first time since 2018.

The 30-year-old said he will have to come up with his “best form” to defeat Zverev and reach his first major final.

“He’s been in the top five for so many years. This year he did also step forward. He won his first Grand Slam, played the final in Wimbledon, as well. He’s coming up really in hot form,” Khachanov said.

Zverev, meanwhile, says he will have to be wary of his opponent and his extensive knowledge of the game.

“We call him [Khachanov] ‘The Professor’, actually, because he knows everything about tennis, and he knows every single string tension, knows what everybody does, so that’s quite fun,” Zverev said.

Zheng Qinwen beats Iga Swiatek, while Coco Gauff and Elena Rybakina also reach the quarterfinals. Meanwhile, Alexander Zverev advances in the men’s.

Home favourite Coco Gauff and world number two Elena Rybakina sailed into the US Open quarterfinals, while China’s Zheng Qinwen mounted another extraordinary fightback to upset six-time Grand Slam champion Iga Swiatek.

Top seed Alexander Zverev beat Italian ⁠Luciano Darderi 6-2, 6-2, 7-6(3) at Arthur Ashe Stadium. The German was surprised to finish before midnight after coming through a couple of five-setters earlier in the tournament.

“I think after 10 hours on court, I just maybe found my rhythm a little bit better, which is helpful because the first two matches ⁠were really not [at a] great level,” Zverev said after his win late on Monday.

“I think I’m going in the right direction, moving forward in the right direction.”

Zverev, who is bidding for a second Grand Slam title after winning the French Open in June, avenged his defeat by Darderi at the Italian Open in Rome earlier this year.

Fourth seed Gauff outclassed compatriot Iva Jovic 6-1, 6-4 to set up a clash with French Open champion Mirra Andreeva for a place in the semis.

“Mirra is someone that I always have ‌tough matches with,” Gauff told reporters. “She’s obviously in a different mindset now at the top of the game coming off of a Grand Slam win … it’s going to be a really athletic, tough match.”

Gauff is the sixth American player into the quarters, joining Jessica Pegula, Emma Navarro, Frances Tiafoe, Alex Michelsen and Ben Shelton.

Rybakina continued her quest for a third major title with a 6-1, 6-4 win over former US Open champion Naomi Osaka, who was hampered by an Achilles tendon injury that had flared up in the previous round.

The victory leaves second seed Rybakina one win away from becoming world number one for the first time, with Olympic champion Zheng awaiting her in the quarters.

The win was another encouraging sign for ⁠Rybakina, who had arrived in New York with questions over her fitness after retiring from the Cincinnati Open in the ⁠build-up to the tournament.

“Preparation wasn’t that great,” she told reporters. “It’s an amazing progress. I’m really glad how everything worked out.”

Zheng has become something of an escape artist at Flushing Meadows.

After coming back from a 0-5 deficit in the deciding set against third-round foe Madison Keys, she let the first five games slip through her fingers in 20 minutes against 2022 ⁠champion Swiatek.

However, she clawed her way back into the match and collapsed to the court with her face in her hands after sealing the win on the fourth match point.

Zheng is the first qualifier since Emma Raducanu in 2021 ⁠to reach the quarterfinals of the women’s draw, as she battles back from a chronic elbow ⁠injury.

Andreeva’s entertaining match against Anastasia Potapova ended on a sour note as the Austrian went down injured in the final game.

Potapova valiantly retook the court but could not prevent the inevitable as Andreeva sealed the 5-7, 6-4, 6-3 win with a backhand strike before going across the net to hug her opponent.

The evening session in the men’s draw was not short on drama.

At ‌Louis Armstrong Stadium, Karen Khachanov fought back to claim a 7-5, 4-6, 6-7(6), 6-1, 6-4 win over 20-year-old American Learner Tien, while on the Grandstand court, Botic van de Zandschulp emerged victorious after a five-hour marathon against Arthur Gea.

The 21-year-old Gea had been one point away from becoming the first lucky loser ‌in ‌Grand Slam history to reach the quarterfinals, before his Dutch opponent engineered a 3-6, 6-7(0), 7-6(7), 7-6(3), 6-4 comeback win.

Earlier on Monday, Belgium’s Alexander Blockx dispatched Argentine 24th seed Francisco Cerundolo 6-3, 4-6, 7-5, 7-5 to reach his first Grand Slam quarterfinal.