NEW YORK — Frances Tiafoe kept coming back until he had reached his third U.S. Open semifinal, beating Alex Michelsen 5-7, 3-6, 7-5, 6-3, 7-6 (10-6) on Tuesday.
Tiafoe, who lost the first two sets and then trailed 3-0 in the fifth, finally ended the match in 4 hours, 38 minutes. He then jogged over to the other side of the net, where the 22-year-old Michelsen cried on his shoulder after a devastating end to his first career major quarterfinal.
Tiafoe said his performance to start the match was slow and flat.
“It wasn’t good, let’s put it that way. It wasn’t good,” he said. “Three out of five is a blessing, because you have time to get it together. I definitely waited for the last minute.”
The No. 11-seeded Tiafoe, who reached the final four in 2022 and 2024, awaits the winner of the match that began late Tuesday between defending champion Carlos Alcaraz and No. 8 Ben Shelton, who will try to guarantee the Americans have someone in the final Sunday as they seek their first men’s Grand Slam title since 2003.