Frances Tiafoe was two sets down and one game from the end of his tournament, watching Alex Michelsen serve for the match in the third set. He came out the other side anyway.
The 11th-seeded Tiafoe erased a two-set deficit and then a 3-0 fifth-set deficit to beat fellow American Alex Michelsen 5-7, 3-6, 7-5, 6-3, 7-6(10-6) on Tuesday at Arthur Ashe Stadium, closing out a 4-hour, 38-minute quarterfinal in a match tiebreaker to reach his third US Open semifinal. The Hyattsville, Maryland native is now two wins from the Grand Slam title that has eluded American men since Andy Roddick lifted this trophy in 2003.
The Comeback: Down Two Sets, Down a Break in the Fifth
For two sets, Michelsen looked every bit the player who had not dropped a set in New York. The 22-year-old ranked No. 46 in the world served 21 aces on the night, took the opener 7-5, and pulled away in the second 6-3 while Tiafoe searched for a rhythm that would not come.
Then came the game that changed the night. Michelsen served for the match in the third set and could not close it. Tiafoe broke him, scratched out the set 7-5 — he converted just one of six break chances in it — and then broke Michelsen twice in the fourth to level the match at two sets apiece and send a delirious Ashe crowd into the fifth.
Michelsen answered by racing to a 3-0 lead in the decider, and Tiafoe again had to dig. Serving at 4-5 in the fifth, one loose game from elimination, he fired back-to-back aces — one clocked at 135 mph — to force the tiebreaker. In the first-to-10 breaker he pulled clear and finished it 10-6, sealing the match with a pass off the baseline.
The Numbers Behind a Match Decided by Almost Nothing
The stat sheet reflects how narrow the margin was: Michelsen actually won more total points, 173 to 170. Tiafoe won the match by winning 28 games to 27, and by winning the ones that counted.
| Statistic | Tiafoe | Michelsen |
|---|---|---|
| Final score | 5-7, 3-6, 7-5, 6-3, 7-6(10-6) | — |
| Aces | 10 | 21 |
| Double faults | 4 | 9 |
| Break points converted | 8 of 17 | 8 of 23 |
| Service points won | 108 | 100 |
| Total points won | 170 | 173 |
| Games won | 28 | 27 |
| Match time | 4:38 | — |
Michelsen's nine double faults in his first career major quarterfinal proved as costly as his 21 aces were valuable, and Tiafoe said afterward he was counting on exactly that kind of wobble from an opponent in unfamiliar territory. Michelsen also fell to 0-6 in his career in five-set matches.
Tiafoe: 'He Easily Could Have Won Today'
Tiafoe was candid about how the momentum shifted, pointing to the pressure that arrived once Michelsen had a finish line in sight.
"I hoped he'd get tight," Tiafoe said. "He gave me some gifts with a couple double faults there, and I slowly, slowly started getting my rhythm, snuck out that third set and started playing better and better."
He was equally direct about how close he came to going home. "He's a hell of a player, man," Tiafoe said of Michelsen. "He easily could have won today. So shout out, big ups to him."
The finish was as emotional as it was dramatic. Tiafoe jogged to the net, where Michelsen — ending his first Grand Slam quarterfinal in tears — leaned on his shoulder, and Tiafoe put his own celebration on hold to console him. Only after that did he turn to the stands.
"I'm going to enjoy this one, though," he told the crowd. "Let's go!"
A Maryland Product Who Keeps Peaking in New York
Tiafoe grew up in Hyattsville, Maryland, and learned the game at the Junior Tennis Champions Center in College Park, where his father worked as a maintenance man — a backstory that has followed him through every deep run of his career. The US Open remains where he plays his best tennis: this is his third semifinal in Flushing Meadows after 2022, when he beat Rafael Nadal en route to becoming the first American man in the final four since 2006, and 2024, when he fell to Taylor Fritz in an all-American semifinal.
That trio of appearances puts him in rare company. He joins Andre Agassi as the only American men to reach three US Open semifinals this century. ESPN noted the comeback itself was historically unusual — one of only a handful of times in the Open era that a man has come back from two sets down in a US Open quarterfinal, and the first since Roger Federer.
The win also carries a ranking payoff: Tiafoe is set to return to the top 10 for the first time in three years.
Up Next: A Semifinal on Friday
Tiafoe's semifinal is scheduled for Friday. His opponent comes from the Tuesday night quarterfinal between defending champion and No. 2 seed Carlos Alcaraz and No. 8 seed Ben Shelton — a matchup that would give Tiafoe either a rematch of his 2022 semifinal loss to Alcaraz or a rematch with the American who beat him in the 2023 semifinals and lost to him in a five-set third-rounder in 2024.
Where to Watch/Listen
Next match: Friday, US Open Men's Semifinals
Venue: Arthur Ashe Stadium, USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center, Flushing Meadows, New York
TV: ESPN