Ben Shelton beats Frances Tiafoe to reach first US Open final - ESPN

Ben Shelton won the all-American duel with Frances Tiafoe and now he's the one who can end his country's long wait for another men's Grand Slam champion.

Shelton pulled out a 4-6, 6-3, 6-3, 7-5 victory Friday and will play No. 1 seed Alexander Zverev on Sunday for the US Open title in New York.

Shelton, 23, is the first Black American man to reach a US Open final since Arthur Ashe in 1972, and the first Black American man to reach any major final since MaliVai Washington at the 1996 Wimbledon.

The No. 8-seeded Shelton had plenty of energy left after ousting defending champion Carlos Alcaraz in a quarterfinal match that ended Wednesday at 3:33 a.m. ET, the latest finish ever at the US Open.

Now, Shelton needs to stop French Open champion Zverev to give the host nation its first men's major winner since Andy Roddick at the 2003 US Open.

• Shelton: First career major final appearance; 2nd American man since 2010 to make a major final (Taylor Fritz: 2024 US Open)
• First Black American man to reach a US Open final since Arthur Ashe (1972); first Black American man to reach any major final since MaliVai Washington (1996 Wimbledon)
• Seeking to become 1st American man to win a major title since Andy Roddick at 2003 US Open; American men have lost 6 straight major finals since
• Seeking to become 1st former college player to win a major since John McEnroe at 1984 US Open; former college players have lost 11 straight major finals since
• Will face Alexander Zverev in final; 0-5 career record vs. Zverev (1st meeting in major)
• Tiafoe: 0-3 in major career in semifinal matches; all 3 losses have come at the US Open (2022, 2024, 2026)

— ESPN Research

«I'm going for it here, and I'm going to leave it all on the court,» Shelton