Ben Shelton tops Tiafoe to advance to first Grand Slam final

American Ben Shelton continued his tremendous run through the US Open.

Shelton defeated fellow American and good friend Frances Tiafoe 4-6, 6-3, 6-3, 7-5 in the semifinals of men’s singles on Friday night at Arthur Ashe Stadium in New York.

Shelton advances to his first Grand Slam final on Sunday, where he will face No. 1 seed Alexander Zverev. He followed up his victory over defending champion Carlos Alcaraz in an epic five-set quarterfinal with a dynamic performance against Tiafoe, who also won a five-set classic to get to the semifinals.

Shelton will be looking to break a 23-year drought of American men winning majors. The last American to win a major championship was Andrew Roddick, who won the US Open in 2003.

Shelton also became the first black American player to advance to the Final of the US Open since 1972, when Arthur Ashe accomplished the feat.

In the women’s doubles competition, American Taylor Townsend achieved the career Grand Slam along with partner Katerina Siniakova. The top-seeded pair defeated Ashlyn Krueger and Robin Montgomery 5-7, 6-0, 6-2 to win the championship on Friday afternoon.

The US Open title was the fourth and final piece of the career Grand Slam for Townsend and Siniakova. They won the title at Wimbledon in 2024, the Australian Open in 2025 and the French Open earlier this year.

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