Shelton tips Tiafoe at US Open to move one win from ending 23year drought
Sep 11, 2026
23-year-old defeats Tiafoe 4-6, 6-3, 6-3, 7-5Shelton is first Black US men’s finalist since AsheAmerican will face top seed Zverev for titleFor 23 years they have come and gone. Andy Roddick tried again. Andre Agassi made one final run. James Blake, Mardy Fish, Sam Querrey, John Isner, Tommy Paul
and Taylor Fritz all carried the hopes of American men’s tennis deep into the second week of major championships, only to thrash against the ceiling of the sport’s European hegemony time and again.Now Ben Shelton gets his chance. The fearless 23-year-old from Atlanta surged into his first career grand slam final on a feverish Friday night at the US Open, completing a 4-6, 6-3, 6-3, 7-5 fightback over Frances Tiafoe in a pulsating all-American semi-final beneath the lights of Arthur Ashe Stadium. The result leaves him one victory from becoming the first man from the United States to win one of the sport’s four bedrock tournaments since Roddick triumphed here in 2003. Continue reading...
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