Ben Shelton beat Carlos Alcaraz in five sets to set up an all-American semifinal. Will he get past Frances Tiafoe on Sept 11?
77% of users predicted YES — the community got this one right. 17 predictions cast.
Ben Shelton defeated fellow American Frances Tiafoe 4-6, 6-3, 6-3, 7-5 in the 2026 US Open men's semifinal on September 11 at Arthur Ashe Stadium, reaching his first career Grand Slam final. Shelton finished with 20 aces and 47 winners to Tiafoe's 3 aces and 27 winners.
Tiafoe opened sharper and took the first set, but Shelton's serve and power took over from the second set onward. He broke late in the fourth set to close out the match, sending him to face top seed Alexander Zverev in the final.
The result capped an all-American semifinal that guaranteed a U.S. man his deepest US Open run in years, following Shelton's five-set upset of Carlos Alcaraz in the quarterfinals. Community sentiment had favored Shelton at 77% before the match, and the outcome matched that majority view.
Shelton's win kept alive the tournament's broader storyline: no American man had won the US Open since Andy Roddick in 2003, and his run to the final put that drought squarely in focus heading into the championship match.