- Ben Shelton, the No. 8 seed, and No. 11 seed Frances Tiafoe each went the five-set distance in the quarterfinals to get here.
- Both players are 0-2 in previous Grand Slam semifinals, so the winner reaches his first major final.
- Only twice before this century have two American men met in a major semifinal, in 2005 and 2024, both at the US Open.
- Shelton is -300 at Bovada to win the semifinal, with Tiafoe next at +240.
NEW YORK - Ben Shelton and Frances Tiafoe meet Friday night at Arthur Ashe Stadium in a US Open semifinal that puts an American man in the title match for the second time in three years. No American man has won this tournament in 23 years, and whoever advances Friday plays Sunday with a chance to end that.
Two Semifinal Losers Chase A First Final
Neither man has played in a Grand Slam final. Tiafoe lost the 2022 US Open semifinal to Carlos Alcaraz and the 2024 US Open semifinal to Taylor Fritz, making Friday his third trip to the final four at Flushing Meadows. Shelton has been stopped at the same stage twice, by Novak Djokovic at the 2023 US Open and by Jannik Sinner at the 2025 Australian Open.
Shelton leads the head-to-head series 3-1, with Tiafoe's lone win coming in a five-set meeting at the 2024 US Open.
Both Needed Five Sets To Get Here
Shelton put out Alcaraz, the defending champion, with a tiebreak in the fifth set of a match that ended at 3:34 a.m., a US Open record for the latest finish in tournament history. The scoreline: 6-7 (5), 6-1, 6-3, 1-6, 7-6 (7).
Tiafoe's escape took four hours and 38 minutes. Alex Michelsen grabbed the first two sets and served for the match at 5-4 in the third, and Tiafoe answered with seven consecutive games on the way to a 5-7, 3-6, 7-5, 6-3, 7-6 (6) finish.
Advertising Disclosure
USAOnlineSportsbooks.com provides you with the most current information regarding sports betting and fantasy with the help of commissions we receive from links you may click on our site.
That history is baked into Friday's number. The match total sits at 40 games, a line that only cashes the Over if the grinding pattern from both quarterfinals repeats.
Bovada prices Shelton at -300 to win it, with Tiafoe at +240, a gap that leaves room to move on the US Open betting board if either man's legs show the wear of this week's marathons. The matchup is drawing action across online sportsbooks given how tight their four-match series has been.
A Chance To End The Longest US Open Drought
American men have crossed rackets in a major semifinal twice before this century, both times in New York: Andre Agassi topped Robby Ginepri in 2005, and Fritz got past Tiafoe two years ago before Sinner denied him in the final. That 2024 run made Fritz the first American man in the title match here since Andy Roddick, who lost to Roger Federer in 2006. Roddick had won it all in 2003, still the last US Open men's championship for an American.
Sunday's opponent will be either top-seeded Alexander Zverev or Karen Khachanov, who meet in Friday's afternoon semifinal.
