Tiafoe

Frances Tiafoe, the American on a rollicking run, is in need of a comeback against Carlos Alcaraz of Spain in their semifinal match. The winner will play in ...

He held his serve again, extending his lead to 5-1, but Khachanov refused to lose the match on his serve and pushed it to 5-2, finishing the game with an ace. Alcaraz returned the shot reaching behind his back as he leaped, and then sprinted to return Sinner’s volley with a backhand to bring the game to deuce. He won the match with an ace to become the first American man to make the U.S. His first set of the tournament was close, going to a tiebreaker that he won 7-0. Tiafoe would have chances to get back in the set twice more, but Alcaraz shut the door both times, the first by mixing slices and topspin through a long rally, and then once more with a serve Tiafoe could not get back. After taking the first set in a tiebreaker, Tiafoe stayed even with Alcaraz through the first five games, but trouble arrived when he was serving at 2-3. “I went there when I was nine and he was eight,” Dennis said during a changeover in the second set. A twist of his hips, a flick of his wrist, and the ball is sailing past. He was leading 40-15, but Alcaraz leveled the score with the help of a Tiafoe double fault. Tiafoe had just won his 16th set out of 17 he had played in the tournament. Tiafoe got his first chance to win the set while leading 6-5, with Alcaraz serving, and then earned four more chances when the set moved to a tiebreaker. Tiafoe and Alcaraz hugged in the middle of the court, and when they separated, Alcaraz pointed at Tiafoe, urging the fans to let him hear them one last time.

Tiafoe, a 24-year-old from Hyattsville, Md., was aiming to become the first American man to win a U.S. Open singles championship since Andy Roddick.

Open (eight) in the process. But he found new life in a tightly contested fourth set, which the No. The No.

Carlos Alcaraz will play for his first Grand Slam title, and a shot at the world No. 1 ranking, after taking out American Francis Tiafoe 6-7 (6), 6-3, 6-1, ...

He regrouped and broke to go up in the second set, and a pivotal juncture arrived with Alcaraz serving at 5-3 but facing a break point. As on that forehand, Alcaraz often rips the ball with abandon -- and, somehow, with precision, too, aiming for the lines and finding them. One arrived in the second set's third game, when Alcaraz saved a break point and went on to hold. [Carlos Alcaraz](https://www.espn.com/sports/tennis/players/profile?playerId=3782) and [Frances Tiafoe](https://www.espn.com/sports/tennis/players/profile?playerId=2708) engaged in a high-level, high-energy spectacle of a back-and-forth semifinal at the US Open -- no point over when it seemed to be, no ball out of reach, no angle too audacious. A smiling Tiafoe jokingly climbed over the net to Alcaraz's side, as if to go shake hands at match's end. Alcaraz appeared to seize control by grabbing nine of 10 games in one stretch and could have ended the evening when he held a match point in the fourth set. No surprise, given he was the first American man in the semifinals at Flushing Meadows in 16 years. He was better when he needed to be, taking four of the last five games. "This one hurts. Ultimately, enough of the winners went Alcaraz's way, and too many of the mistakes came from Tiafoe's racket. "Too good from Carlos tonight," Tiafoe said. "You have give everything on court," he said.

Carlos Alcaraz battled past Frances Tiafoe in five sets to reach the US Open final. The 19-year-old will play Casper Ruud for the title and World No.

Tiafoe quickly went to the other side of the court and the pair shared a warm embrace. The longer the match went on, it was clear Tiafoe was fighting to reach a state of neutrality in the action. The key came at 1-1 in the second set, when Tiafoe earned a break point to go up a set and a break. But Alcaraz never faltered under the pressure inside a raucuous [Arthur Ashe](https://www.atptour.com/en/players/arthur-ashe/a063/overview) Stadium, improving to 8-1 in five-setters, including 5-0 at Flushing Meadows. So despite Tiafoe playing a courageous fourth-set tie-break, the Spaniard was physically ready for the decider. He played the final of a Grand Slam in Late in the fourth set, Tiafoe could be heard saying "I'm putting my heart on the f****** line" twice in a row. "Too good Carlos, I am happy I got to share the big stage with you." First time in the final of a Grand Slam. [Casper Ruud](https://www.atptour.com/en/players/casper-ruud/rh16/overview) for the title. "To be honest in the semi-final of a Grand Slam you have to give everything... [Frances Tiafoe](https://www.atptour.com/en/players/frances-tiafoe/td51/overview) 6-7(6), 6-3, 6-1, 6-7(5), 6-3 after four hours and 19 minutes to reach his first major championship match.

The 19-year-old from Spain ended the talented American's deep run in New York in five sets and will play Casper Ruud of Norway for the men's singles title.

He did as he was told, pushing the set to a tiebreaker, where he cranked up his serve and finally got Alcaraz to make enough mistakes to force the deciding set. And he did, pulling even at 3-3 and saving a match point at 4-5 by chasing down a drop shot that had the former first lady up out of her seat and urging him on. Alcaraz beat him every which way, pushing him deep into the backcourt, then drawing him up to the net and passing him, as he seized control of a match that seemed like it would be over very soon. Tiafoe would have chances to get back into the set twice more, but Alcaraz shut the door both times, the first by mixing slices and topspin through a long rally, the second with a serve Tiafoe could not get back. A twist of his hips, a flick of his wrist, and the ball is sailing past. Tiafoe stayed even with Alcaraz through the first five games of the second set, but trouble arrived when he was serving at 2-3. Tiafoe had just won his 16th set out of 17 he had played in the tournament. Tiafoe got his first chance to win the set while leading 6-5, with Alcaraz serving, and then earned four more chances when the set moved to a tiebreaker. Tiafoe and Alcaraz hugged in the middle of the court, and when they separated, Alcaraz pointed at Tiafoe, urging the fans to let him hear them one last time. Tiafoe started for his chair, then paused to look at the fans and soak in the love they were giving him. Then in the last set he was up once more, and then all even again. Already he was the first American man to make the semifinals of this tournament in 16 years.

No. 3 Carlos Alcaraz, the Spanish teen phenom had a match point in the fourth set but needed five to defeat the American Frances Tiafoe.

Frances Tiafoe came up short in his quest for a U.S. Open title but he walks out of Flushing Meadows having boosted hope for the future of American men's ...

Black American men have not had a Grand Slam champion to look up to since Arthur Ashe in the 1970s, and have had precious few billboard-worthy top Black players ...

The U.S.T.A. Elliott Pettit, senior director of strategic development for the U.S.T.A., said the organization has tried to build a ladder that begins in elementary school by making tennis part of gym class. But what will make that talented child stick with the sport in a serious way? If a gym teacher agrees to connect with a local community tennis program, the school can receive a free package of equipment for an introductory version of the game — 30 rackets, 36 instructional balls, tape to use as the net and chalk for lines. In Bolling’s program, the color of the T-shirt signified a player’s level. “So many of the success stories in our sport are happenstance,” said Louis Bolling, a former college player who is a community outreach manager with the U.S.T.A. has tried to set up a system that gives tennis a better chance to attract better athletes and more of them, especially from communities of color. If Tiafoe’s father had worked in an office park instead of a tennis center, would the boy with all that speed and strength instead be suiting up for his N.F.L. Kinnear and his colleagues at the U.S.T.A. For the people who make a living searching for someone like Tiafoe, the story is both inspiring and terrifying. Their physical gifts and dedication had turned them into teenage sensations in basketball or football, or any of the other lucrative athletic pursuits where they have long seen people who look like them at the pinnacle of the sport. Maybe one day they will have Frances Tiafoe, who is Black and played one of the most compelling matches in U.S.

Frances Tiafoe's 2022 US Open dream may have been ended by Carlos Alcaraz on Friday night, but the American believes his run to the semi-finals in New York ...

I wish the fifth [set] was a breaker, because maybe I would have been 9-and-0.” Usually in the other breakers, I was serving huge. “I always knew to put two weeks together is obviously the toughest thing in the world. I just wish I was the one who got the W." “[It was] crazy getting to meet her after,” said the 24-year-old. “He's one of the best players in the world, for sure. He's going to be a problem for a very long time.” I've always tried hard, but [I’m making] my weaknesses stronger, breaking down my game a lot more, and I am a student of the game again. Him being in the race to be No. To have my first time beat him here in New York in front of everybody and seeing what that meant, that was crazy.” I've always backed myself against the best players in the world. But you know how close I can actually be to be one of those guys and to do this consistently.

Carlos Alcaraz, the 19-year-old from Spain, will play for his first Grand Slam on Sunday.

In the fifth and final set, Alcaraz bounced back earning an early break to go up 2-0 but Tiafoe was able to match that effort, tying it up at 2-2. Alcaraz, who finished the match with a 74% first serve winning percentage and broke nine times, will be playing in his first Grand Slam final on Sunday. Alcaraz continued his momentum in the fourth set, earning a 3-1 lead off of two breaks. Alcaraz threw in two double faults in the tiebreaker, including on set point. Tiafoe’s energy took a dip and so did the pep in his step. The 19-year-old, who is currently ranked No.