NEW YORK — Ben Shelton shook off an erratic start to power past Frances Tiafoe, 4-6, 6-3, 6-3, 7-5, in an all-American US Open semifinal on Friday (Saturday in Manila) and booked a championship showdown with top seed Alexander Zverev.
Eighth-seeded Shelton, who knocked off defending champion Carlos Alcaraz in the quarterfinals, will play his first Grand Slam final on Sunday, when he’ll be aiming to end American men’s 23-year drought in the majors and deny French Open champion Zverev a second Grand Slam title of 2026.
Six years after an agonizing loss in the US Open final, Zverev says “everything is different” as he returns to the title match in Flushing Meadows.
The top-seeded German held off a battling Karen Khachanov, 6-3, 7-6 (9/7), 7-6 (8/6), on Friday to reach his third straight Grand Slam final.
Zverev admits his US Open near miss against Dominic Thiem in 2020 left scar tissue, but all the doubts have finally been dispelled with his maiden major at the French Open.
He followed that with a runner-up finish at Wimbledon, and even though he knows he’ll be in hostile territory on Sunday — taking on Shelton.
“I think a lot has happened,” he said. “I’ve played in a lot of other finals. I’ve played a lot of big matches since then.
“Back then, of course, it was my first Grand Slam final. I was inexperienced... just different. Everything is different.
“I am pretty sure that the atmosphere is going to be very, very different on Sunday as well,” added Zverev, who played to an empty stadium in 2020 amid the Covid pandemic.
“I think it’s going to be a fantastic feeling playing a final in a sold-out Arthur Ashe and not in an empty one.”
It was a solid performance from Zverev, who labored through two five-set victories to open the tournament but hasn’t dropped a set since.
“I think the improvement has been quite dramatic for me,” he said. “It’s a great thing, because I really started off the tournament, and I was, like, ‘Well, this is pointless because I’m not going to do anything here,’ and here I am sitting and preparing for a Sunday final.
“Things like that can happen in sports and tennis. Things can change very quickly for the positive or negative. For me, luckily, it was for the positive.
“Now I’m going to do everything I can to prepare for Sunday.” AFP
