Ben Shelton delivered a thrilling performance on Friday, overcoming his fellow American Frances Tiafoe in a high‑octane US Open semifinal to earn a place in the championship match against Germany's Alexander Zverev. The match unfolded on a night that was tinged with solemn remembrance, as the tournament opened with tributes marking the 25th anniversary of the September 11 attacks. Shelton, who fell behind early, rallied from a set down to win 4‑6, 6‑3, 6‑3, 7‑5, moving one step closer to ending a 23‑year drought for an American man to capture a Grand Slam singles title.
The last time a U.S. male player lifted a Grand Slam trophy was when Andy Roddick triumphed at Flushing Meadows in 2003. Shelton now has the chance to become the first American man to win a major in more than two decades, and he also joins an exclusive group as the first Black American to reach a US Open final since Arthur Ashe did so in 1972. Zverev, the tournament’s third seed, secured his own final berth earlier in the day with a straight‑sets win over fellow German Karen Khachanov, posting a scoreline of 6‑3, 7‑6 (9‑7), 7‑6 (8‑6).
The victory brought the 29‑year‑old closer to a second Grand Slam crown after his runner‑up finish in 2020, when he fell to Dominic Thiem. After the match, Shelton addressed the crowd, saying, "First, 'Foe' is like a big brother to me. This is where we want to be, at the tail end of this tournament.
I know what my goal is, what my job is. I'm going for it here.
Let's do this for the USA! One more thing – it's a difficult day to be out here playing. My thoughts and prayers go to all the families who were impacted by 9/11." His remarks highlighted both the personal significance of the occasion and the broader emotional weight of the day. The semifinal began with Tiafoe taking an early lead, breaking Shelton's serve to go up 5‑4 after Shelton double‑faulted.
Tiafoe then held serve to close out the first set 6‑4, showcasing his aggressive baseline play and targeting Shelton's backhand. In the second set, Shelton found his rhythm.
At 2‑1, he believed he had unleashed the fastest serve ever recorded at a Grand Slam, clocking a blistering 158 mph. Subsequent review by Hawk‑Eye and the USTA corrected the figure to a still‑impressive 144 mph.
When the match reached 3‑3, the balls were changed, and Shelton seized the moment with a 125 mph first serve that forced Tiafoe into a defensive posture, even knocking the American's racket out of his hands. Shelton followed that with a series of powerful serves—144 mph, 139 mph, and 140 mph—escalating the intensity and leveling the playing field. He broke Tiafoe in the fifth game of the third set, establishing a commanding lead that he would not relinquish. Shelton's left‑handed serve, combined with rock‑solid defense, proved decisive in the high‑energy fourth set.
The eighth seed maintained relentless pressure, eventually sealing the match with a 47‑winner tally that included 20 aces. His performance not only earned him a spot in the final but also underscored his emergence as a serious contender on the biggest stage. Statistically, Shelton's serve speed entered the conversation about the fastest serves in US Open history. While Andy Roddick still holds the tournament record at 152 mph (set in 2002), and Sam Groth's Challenger record stands at 163.6 mph, Shelton's 144 mph serve placed him among the elite power servers of the modern era.
On the other side of the draw, Zverev's path to the final had been equally dramatic. After two grueling five‑set battles in the early rounds, the German had not dropped a set in his last four matches, cruising through to his third consecutive major final. He reflected on his early tournament struggles, recalling a moment after a 3 a.m.
second‑round match when he and his team were laughing about his subpar play. "That sense of humour helped me," Zverev said, adding that incremental improvements had been crucial to his resurgence.
Zverev's semifinal against Khachanov featured a solitary break that gave him a narrow first‑set lead. A brief lapse—a double fault—allowed Khachanov to stay in the match, pushing Zverev into a tense tiebreak where he trailed 5‑3 before rallying to win the set after a marathon 35‑shot exchange.
The second set followed a similar pattern, with Zverev taking an early break and holding on. In the third, Khachanov held set points at 6‑4, but two errant forehands from the Russian and a decisive Zverev ace produced a match point that Zverev capitalised on immediately. Looking ahead to Sunday, Zverev expressed enthusiasm about playing in front of a full house at the Arthur Ashe Stadium, rather than an empty arena. "I think it's going to be a fantastic feeling playing a final in a sold‑out Arthur Ashe and not in an empty one," he said.
"For me, a loud and energetic crowd is always great, as long as they're fair." Former tennis great Martina Navratilova, commenting for Sky Sports Tennis, praised Zverev's season, noting his consistency across the majors despite the absence of some top rivals. "What a year Zverev has had at the majors. It's been outstanding stuff," she said. "There are no asterisks; he still had to get through even as a favourite.
And that has given him the confidence to play better tennis after that. I think he played better at Wimbledon than he did at Roland Garros, and now he started off badly here by his own admission, but he hasn't lost a set the last four matches." The stage is now set for a historic showdown at Flushing Meadows. Shelton, the 23‑year‑old American with a booming left‑handed serve and a tenacious baseline game, will look to fulfill the hopes of a nation hungry for a homegrown champion.
Zverev, the seasoned German with a powerful serve and a track record of resilience, will aim to add a second Grand Slam title to his résumé. Both players have navigated challenging draws, capitalised on the early exits of rivals such as Jannik Sinner, Carlos Alcaraz, and Novak Djokovic, and demonstrated the mental fortitude required to thrive under the bright lights of a Grand Slam final.
Fans can catch the live action on Sky Sports starting August 30, with streaming options available on NOW and the Sky Sports app. The final promises to be a compelling clash of styles—Shelton's youthful vigor and explosive serve versus Zverev's seasoned composure and tactical acumen—set against the backdrop of a stadium filled with hopeful American supporters and an international audience eager to witness a potential new chapter in US Open history.