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US Open Semifinals Preview: American Showdown and Heavyweight Clashes
The US Open needed the floodlights, the night session, and then a little extra. The quarterfinals stretched into the small hours and into the record books, delivering the longest match in the tournament’s history and blowing the men’s draw wide open.
At the center of it all: Ben Shelton.
The American ended Carlos Alcaraz’s title defense in a five-set epic that ran four and a half hours and finally closed after 3 a.m. in New York. Alcaraz, the defending champion and one of the sport’s standard-bearers, kept swinging, but Shelton refused to blink. The crowd thinned as the night dragged on, yet the noise never really dipped. Every Shelton winner felt like a statement. Every hold of serve pushed the defending champion closer to the exit.
When it was over, Alcaraz was out, Shelton was through, and the men’s tournament had a new axis.
All-American Collision Course on Men’s Side
Shelton’s reward is not a breather. It is Frances Tiafoe.
That guarantees one thing: an American will play for the men’s title at Flushing Meadows.
Tiafoe, the Maryland native who has made Arthur Ashe Stadium his personal stage in recent years, had to fight through his own domestic showdown in the quarterfinals. He outlasted fellow American Alex Michelsen in a match that never quite settled, the momentum bouncing between two players who know each other’s games and ambitions all too well. Tiafoe’s experience in the biggest moments told in the end. He steadied, Michelsen faded, and the path cleared for a semifinal that feels like a changing-of-the-guard test for both men.
Shelton vs. Tiafoe is set for Friday at 7 p.m. ET. Power against flair. Raw surge against established showman. One of them will walk out under the lights with a place in the final and the weight of a home crowd behind him.
On the other side of the men’s draw, the script was far more straightforward.
No. 1 seed Alexander Zverev barely broke stride in his quarterfinal, sweeping past Botic van de Zandschulp in straight sets. The French Open champion controlled the baseline, dictated rallies, and never allowed the match to breathe into an upset. This was a top seed doing exactly what a top seed is supposed to do in the second week of a major.
Waiting for him is Karen Khachanov, who advanced after Alexander Blockx retired due to injury. It was a subdued way to reach a semifinal, the tension replaced by concern as Blockx’s run ended prematurely. Khachanov moves on, though, and now faces the task of trying to disrupt Zverev’s march toward another major final when they meet Friday at 3 p.m. ET.
American Charge and Heavyweight Clashes in Women’s Draw
The women’s event carries its own American storyline, and it runs straight through the very top of the game.
Jessica Pegula, the No. 3 seed, handled fellow American Emma Navarro in her quarterfinal, a composed, businesslike performance that underlined why she has become such a fixture in the latter stages of majors. Pegula’s groundstrokes bit through the court, her serve held up under pressure, and the scoreline never truly hinted at danger once she settled.
Now comes the mountain: No. 1 seed Aryna Sabalenka.
Sabalenka, the defending US Open champion, powered past Wimbledon winner Linda Nosková to secure her place in the last four. It was a matchup loaded with pedigree, but Sabalenka imposed her game, leaning on that thundering first serve and fearless baseline aggression that has carried her to the top of the rankings and to the front of every hard-court conversation.
Sabalenka vs. Pegula opens the women’s semifinals on Thursday at 7 p.m. ET. It’s a clash of styles and temperaments: Sabalenka’s ferocity against Pegula’s precision, the defending champion trying to hold off an American push on home soil.
Just behind them on the schedule, another blockbuster.
Coco Gauff, the No. 4 seed and reigning US Open champion, had to dig deep to keep her title defense alive. She rallied from behind to defeat No. 5 seed Mirra Andreeva in a quarterfinal that felt like a glimpse of the sport’s future. Andreeva brought fearless shot-making and a refusal to respect reputations; Gauff responded with resilience, athleticism, and the kind of problem-solving that separates champions from contenders.
That comeback keeps her on a collision course with Elena Rybakina.
Rybakina, the No. 2 seed, secured her place in the semifinals by beating Qinwen Zheng and, in the process, climbed to the top of the women’s rankings. The former Wimbledon champion has built her rise on a clean, heavy strike and an unflappable temperament. On hard courts, with her serve locked in, she can look almost untouchable.
They meet Thursday at 8:30 p.m. ET. Gauff, the defending champion with the crowd at her back, against Rybakina, the newly crowned world No. 1. One will walk into the final chasing another major title; the other will leave with a reminder of how narrow the margins are at the very top.
Semifinals at a Glance
- Women – Thursday, Sept. 10
- No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka vs. No. 3 Jessica Pegula, 7 p.m. ET (ESPN)
- No. 2 Elena Rybakina vs. No. 4 Coco Gauff, 8:30 p.m. ET (ESPN)
- Men – Friday, Sept. 11
- No. 1 Alexander Zverev vs. Karen Khachanov, 3 p.m. ET
- No. 11 Frances Tiafoe vs. No. 8 Ben Shelton, 7 p.m. ET
The defending champions on both sides are still swinging. The No. 1 seeds are still standing. The American hopes are very much alive. After a quarterfinal round that stretched into the night and into history, the question now is simple: who handles the spotlight best when New York turns the volume all the way up?
