Frances Tiafoe rolls over Andrey Rublev to reach US Open semi-finals

Andrey Rublev and Frances Tiafoe first stared each other down as rivals on the courts of Flushing Meadows in 2014. They were both 15 years old then, Tiafoe born three months later in January 1998, and as two of the most hyped youngsters of their time they knew each other well. They battled to the death in a fierce contest in the quarterfinals of the US Open juniors, with Tiafoe toppling the top seed in a tight three-setter. Afterwards, they saluted each other in a warm embrace.

While Rublev rose swiftly towards the top of the game as they transitioned to the professional tour, Tiafoe’s path has been far less clear. His progress has at times been arrested by inconsistency, lapses of concentration on-court and so many tight, brutal losses. But finally, on the very biggest court of those same grounds, Tiafoe made his move to the top of the sport in his own time.

“Man, this is wild, this is crazy,” said Tiafoe on-court. “Had the biggest win of my life [two days] ago and came out and got another big win. Andrey’s a hell of a player, but to back it up is huge. That’s huge growth. It’s tough to turn the page, but I did and now I’m in the semis.”

He embraced this enormous opportunity with a faultless display of attacking tennis, serving tremendously and constantly moving forward. In the process, Tiafoe completely outplayed Rublev, the ninth seed, in all of the decisive moments to reach the US Open semi-final in front of a rowdy home crowd, winning 7-6 (3), 7-6 (0), 6-4 without losing serve. He will face the winner of the final quarter-final between Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner.

Tiafoe, the 22nd seed in New York, had arrived in the fourth round of US Open to widespread praise for the feat of reaching the second week three