Tiafoe ready to take another giant step towards ending US men's title drought

NEW YORK : Few would have given much thought to Frances Tiafoe ending the American men's near two-decade title drought at the U.S. Open just 10 days ago.

When he ran into Rafa Nadal in the fourth round, it seemed like game over even before he stepped on court for the showdown with the 23-times Grand Slam champion.

Incredibly, not only did the 24-year-old topple Nadal but he now stands just two wins away from becoming the first American man since Andy Roddick in 2003 to lift the U.S. Open trophy.

To get a chance to do that, however, he will have to navigate past the man tipped to be the next big thing in tennis - on-fire Spanish teenager Carlos Alcaraz.

"(It) put my mind at ease that Nadal is out of the way," a grinning Tiafoe told reporters following his win over Russian Andrey Rublev in the quarter-finals.

Alcaraz, however, will be no pushover. Twelve months after reaching the last eight on his Flushing Meadows debut, the 19-year-old Spaniard has returned as the third seed and showed his determination to go all the way by grinding out back-to-back five-set victories to reach the last four.

He battled into the early hours of Thursday to down Jannik Sinner in a gruelling, five-hour, 15-minute quarter-final, which kept him in the running to become the youngest ever player to climb to the top of the ATP rankings by the end of the tournament.

"It's going to be really, really tough," Alcaraz, who lost to Tiafoe in their only previous meeting, told reporters.

Like Tiafoe, this is his first Grand Slam semi-final.

"Everybody knows the level of Frances... He's playing unbelievable right now," said Alcaraz. "I feel great to be in my first semi-final in a Grand Slam. I feel better reaching semi-final here in U.S. Open."

TENNIS SKILLS

Norw