Ben Shelton reaches first Grand Slam final at US Open, faces Zverev

A comeback semifinal

Ben Shelton, 23, rallied from a set down to beat Frances Tiafoe 4-6, 6-3, 6-3, 7-5 on Friday night in front of nearly 24,000 fans at Arthur Ashe Stadium, according to ESPN. The all-American semifinal drew notable spectators including Serena Williams, NBA player Jalen Brunson and actor Ben Stiller.

Just days earlier, Shelton had defeated Carlos Alcaraz in a late-night thriller. The win over Tiafoe sends him into the first Grand Slam final of his career, where he will meet top-seeded, French Open champion Alexander Zverev on Sunday.

Ending a 23-year wait

No American man has won a Grand Slam title since Andy Roddick's 2003 US Open triumph, even as American women have claimed 25 major titles in the same span. Per ESPN, only two other American men have even reached a Slam final during that drought.

Part of the difficulty has been the dominance of the so-called "Big Three" — Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic — who won 66 of 81 majors from Federer's 2003 Wimbledon title through Djokovic's 2023 US Open win. Since the start of 2024, Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner have won every major except Zverev's French Open title this year.

A rising American generation

Several American men have posted strong results recently: Tiafoe, 28, reached his third US Open semifinal this year and made the Cincinnati final last month; Taylor Fritz reached the 2024 US Open final; Tommy Paul made the 2023 Australian Open semifinals and reached a career-high ranking of No. 8; and younger players Learner Tien, 20, and Alex Michelsen, 22, reached the Australian Open and US Open quarterfinals, respectively, this year. Brandon Nakashima also reached the Montreal final and a Cincinnati semifinal over the summer.

This year's tournament looked especially open because world No. 1 Jannik Sinner missed it through injury, while defending champion Alcaraz was still working his way back from a nearly five-month absence due to a wrist injury. ESPN analyst Mary Joe Fernandez said before the event that this US Open was "the most wide open" of the majors for American players.

The road here

Shelton's father, Bryan, a former pro who won two ATP titles, once wasn't sure his son would even take up tennis, as young Ben preferred football and baseball. Shelton played college tennis at the University of Florida, where his father was head coach, helping the team win its first NCAA championship in 2021 before winning the NCAA singles title himself the following year and turning professional.