Frances Tiafoe came from two sets and a break down to beat fellow American Alex Michelsen in a thrilling comeback to reach the US Open semi-finals.
The report indicates that frances Tiafoe came from two sets and a break down to beat fellow American Alex Michelsen in a thrilling comeback to reach the US Open semi-finals.
It further notes that eleventh seed Tiafoe was outplayed by world number 46 Michelsen for the first half of the match, but battled back from 5-3 down in the third set – with his opponent serving for the match – to ignite a remarkable turnaround.
In a final set of multiple breaks and swings of momentum, Tiafoe triumphed in the 10-point tie-break to win 5-7 3-6 7-5 6-3 7-6 (10-6).
Victory means 28-year-old Tiafoe reaches his third US Open semi-final in five years, where he will play defending champion Carlos Alcaraz or American eighth seed Ben Shelton.
Michelsen, 22, who was competing in his first Grand Slam quarter-final, was in tears as the pair embraced after a match which lasted four hours and 38 minutes.
“He’s a hell of a player and he easily could have won today. Shout out to Alex Michelsen,” stated Tiafoe.
“Everyone was asleep in the first couple of hours, I was too. As it went along the energy was incredible as it is always. You guys are rooting for me and I appreciate that.”
Tiafoe is hoping to reach the final at Flushing Meadows for the first time, following semi-final defeats by Alcaraz in 2022 and Taylor Fritz in 2024.
But it was a straight-set third-round loss to Jan-Lennard Struff in last year’s tournament which brought about a change in coach – and mentality.
“This time last year he was losing matches because of his fitness, now here we are four hours and 40 minutes into a match and he’s raining down the fastest serve of the match,” former Grand Slam doubles champion Ryan Harrison told Sky Sports.
“This is why he put the hard work in at the gym when nobody’s watching. At the end of last year when he was having to hear all the chatter about his commitment, things he wasn’t doing well – at 28 years old it’s so hard to make a change like that, and his willingness to go through the process.
“For him to go through all that work, to fight to put himself in this position its great to see.”
While it has taken until now for Tiafoe’s renewed work-ethic to bear fruit in a major, he is unequivocal when asked how he compares to the player that reached the last four previously in New York.
“I’m just a different person in general,” he said.
