Tiafoe rallies past Michelsen in 5 sets to make US Open semis - ESPN

NEW YORK — Frances Tiafoe kept coming back until he had reached his third US Open semifinal, beating Alex Michelsen 5-7, 3-6, 7-5, 6-3, 7-6 (10-6) on Tuesday.

Tiafoe, who lost the first two sets and then trailed 3-0 in the fifth, finally ended the match in 4 hours, 38 minutes. He then jogged over to the other side of the net, where the 22-year-old Michelsen cried on his shoulder after a devastating end to his first career major quarterfinal.

«I was trying to keep it together, and I didn't do a good job of that. He was saying a lot of nice personal things,» Michelsen said in his postmatch news conference. "'You'll be there. When I'm older, you're going to be here, and we're going it play again in this type of circumstance.'… He's a great guy for consoling me in that moment."

It was the first comeback from two sets down in a US Open men's quarterfinal since Roger Federer did so against Gael Monfils in 2014. The last US Open men's quarterfinal to go to a deciding set tiebreak was in 2019 and also featured Monfils, against Matteo Berrettini.

• Tiafoe: Trailed 5-3 in third set, down 2-0 in sets; two of his three career comebacks from down two sets at a major have happened this year (French Open Round 3 vs. Jaime Faria)
• Fifth player to come back from two sets down in a US Open men's quarterfinal in the Open era
• Third career major semifinal appearance, all at the US Open (2022, 2024, 2026)
• Guaranteed to return to top 10 for the first time since September 2023 in the post-US Open ATP rankings
• Michelsen: Two double faults up 5-4 in third set, trying to serve out the match
• Lost three straight sets after winning 14 sets in a row to start the tournament; falls to 0-6 all-time in five-setters
• Four-match win streak