Ben Shelton reached his first Grand Slam final, beating fellow American Frances Tiafoe at Artur Ashe Stadium in the US Open. The eighth seed recovered from an opening-set setback to beat Tiafoe 4-6, 6-3, 6-3, 7-5 in three hours and 17 minutes. The victory secured his spot in the summit clash, where he will meet Germany’s Alexander Zverev.
Meanwhile, Shelton and Tiafoe had both entered the semi-final seeking a first appearance in a major final. Their meeting produced an attacking contest in front of a raucous crowd, but Shelton ultimately managed to keep his calm under enormous pressure and scripted a stunning comeback to get the job done.
His victory also leaves him one win from ending a 23-year wait for an American men's singles champion at a Grand Slam. Andy Roddick remains the last American man to claim one, having won at Flushing Meadows in 2003. Now, Shelton’s route to the title will run through Zverev, who defeated Karen Khachanov 6-3, 7-6 (9-7), 7-6 (8-6) in the other semi-final.
The German top seed has reached his third consecutive Grand Slam final after winning the French Open in June and finishing runner-up at Wimbledon in July. He has also reached the semi-finals at all four majors this year.
Zverev doesn’t drop a set
Zverev was tested during the tournament's early stages, needing five sets in each of his first two matches. Since then, he progressed without dropping a set. Against Khachanov, he recovered from pressure in the final two sets and saved two set points in the third-set tie-break before sealing the match. He will now contest his second US Open final, six years after losing the 2020 championship match to Dominic Thiem in five sets.
Shelton, in the meantime, will enter Sunday's showdown carrying a difficult record against his next opponent. He has lost all five of his previous meetings with Zverev. Speaking after his semi-final, the youngster highlighted the significance of sharing the court with Tiafoe and called on the home crowd to support him in the final.
“Frances is like a big brother to me, every time that we get to take to this court together and play each other is super special. This is both of our favourite tournament, our favourite court in the world and to be able to light it up in front of you guys [the crowd] is the best feeling there is. I'm going to need you guys on Sunday to bring the energy. I'm going to leave it all on the court and I hope you guys come and back me. Let's do this for the USA,” Shelton said after the match.
Shelton also paid tribute to his late grandmother and those affected by the 9/11 attacks 25 years ago during his on-court interview.
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