Ben Shelton will try to end a 23-year-American title drought at the US Open on Sunday as he plays for the trophy against Alexander Zverev.

Shelton could become the first local since Andy Roddick in 2003 to lift the title after defeating compatriot Frances Tiafoe in a 4-6, 6-3, 6-3, 7-5 comeback in their semi-final. Shelton now takes a 0-5 record into the final with world No. 2 Zverev.

The German ran over Karen Khachanov in their Friday semi  6-3, 7-6 (7), 7-6 (6) to reach his third Grand Slam title match this season after winning Roland Garros and finishing runner-up at Wimbledon.

The ninth-ranked Shelton goes into the final a threatening underdog. “I’m going to need you guys on Sunday,” he told the semi-final crowd  “I’m going for it here. I’m going to leave it all on the court. I hope you guys come back me.”

Zverev has experience from five previous finals at the majors while Shelton will be playing at this level for the first time after semis here in 2022 and Australian last season,

Shelton lost the opening set against Tiafoe but then began to impose his game.

“I was honestly shocked with how calm I was out there today, especially towards the end of the match,” the winner said.

“Calm, confident, focused. I think that that’s what it takes to be in these positions and win at the highest level. It’s so much mental, kind of an interesting feeling. 

“I felt a lot more methodical with how I went  about it, how focused I was, finishing the job the way I did and being able to move on to the next and look forward to the finals.”

Shelton took victory with a break in the final game of the match, finishing with 20 aces among 47 winners.

“This whole tournament now at this point has been unchartered territory. I’m in positions I’ve never been in before. I’ve beaten guys that I have never beaten before. 

“I’m just excited to put it all out on the line.”

Shelton will play his fifth final of the season, with trophies in Dallas, Munich, Stuttgart and Montreal. He is the youngest American US Open men’s finalist (age 23) since Roddick, who was 21.

Main photo:- Ben Shelton winning Semi-final -by ATPTour.com

Frances Tiafoe turned his momentum around after dropping the first two sets against Alex Michelsen, with the 11th seed scrambling to a 5-7, 3-6, 7-5, 6-4, 7-6 (10-6) Tuesday win into his third semi-final at the US Open.

After Tiafoe converted on his second match point, the winner rushed to the net for a long hug with his tearful opponent who cried on Tiafoe’s shoulders after missing the biggest chance of his young career.

“Everyone in the crowd was asleep during the first couple of hours – I was asleep with y’all,” Tiafoe said. “But after that, the energy was incredible. 

“There were two Americans but the crowd was for me and I appreciate that.”

Tiafoe ended with 10 aces against 21 for Michelsen. The pair combined to break 16 times from 40 chances in nearly five hours of battle.

Michelsen who had not lost a set at this edition, served for a straight-set win in the third set but was overcome by nerves, losing his way with two double-faults to start and eventually dropping the set as Tiafoe began to make an impression at 5-all

Two games later, the previous sure thing went into a fourth set after Michelsen  dropped serve again in the 12th game, 5-7.

Tiafoe broke twice in the fourth as his game improved, squaring the struggle at two sets each to force a deciding fifth.

Tiafoe, trailing 4-5, stood two points from defeat but delivered thee aces to get out of jail, winning a match tiebreaker to reach the final four.

Tiafoe leads all players with 26 hard-court wins this season and is 3-0 versus Michelsen.

Main photo:- Frances Tiafoe celebrates quarter final win – by ISF Ltd

Ben Shelton wrapped up the latest match finish in US Open history early Wednesday with a 6-7 (5), 6-1, 6-3, 1-6, 7-6 (10-7) marathon win which sent Carlos Alcaraz out in the quarter-finals.

The American winner, seeded eighth, will play countryman Frances Tiafoe, who won another epic over countryman Alex Michelsen 5-7, 3-6, 7-5, 6-4, 7-6 (10-6).

The match ended around three-quarters of an hour later than the previous record all-nighter, when Alcaraz beat Jannik Sinner in a quarter-final that ended at 2:50 a.m.

Shelton drilled a service ace past two-time defending champion Alcaraz to end proceedings after four hours, 28 minutes of play as the clock struck just after 3:30 a.m.

Fans rushed out post-match to try and catch 24-hour subway trains back to the city as the controversy over unreasonably late finishes is sure to flare against this week.

Shelton duplicated his Open semi-final from 2023 and a final four appearance at the 2025 Australian Open. 

He and Tiafoe will play an all-American semi for the third time this century after  Andre Agassi – Robby Ginepri (USO 2005) and Taylor Fritz-Tiafoe (USO 2024).

Shelton could do little more than praise the fervent fans who stayed until the end. 

“It’s always about the people in the crowd and my coaches, family and friends who showed up tonight and stayed until 3 a.m.,” the son of a former ATP player said.

“That stayed with me to the end and got me the win tonight.”

Shelton paid the obligatory homage to the most chaotic and pricey of the four Grand Slams: ‘It’s incredible, this is the greatest sports city in the world.

“I’m grateful and blessed to be here, it was an honour to share the court with Carlos.”

The Spaniard who won the title in 2022 and last year, earned the first set but was unable to keep up his level as he won only four games as Shelton roared to win nine on the trot and establish a 2-1 lead on sets .

The 23-year-old from Florida held on through an Alcaraz resurgence to take the fourth before reapplying the pressure on an opponent who was playing his first event since missing nearly five months with a wrist injury.

Alcaraz lost for just the second time in 33 matches at a major since Roland Garros last year and had won 18 straight coming into the Shelton encounter. He had never lost an an American at the Slams, but now stands 13-1 in his career.

While the victorious Shelton called the contest “the most  enjoyable match that I’ve had in my career,” Alcaraz also walked away relatively satisfied even in defeat.

“My expectation was to go there, compete, play in these kind of matches for me being healthy.

“It was close. So I’m just not going to be disappointed about don’t getting the win at the end.
“I’m just happy. I’m just proud about myself, about how I fought.

“After the third set, physically I was really tired, but I found a way to push myself up and physically giving extra.

“In the fifth set I just started to feel better and better, but you
know, I was playing against one of the — he is a beast.

“Shelton is an unbelievable player, powerful. He just managed how to play really, really well in every situation, so credit to him.

“But, you know, I leave the court happy. I leave the court with a smile, healthy, and this is what I needed.”

Main photo:-Ben Shelton reaches for a backhand during win over Alcaraz – by ISF Ltd