Fifty-four years. That is how long the US Open men’s final has waited for a Black American, and the wait ends on Friday at Arthur Ashe Stadium. Whichever man wins the all-American semifinal follows Arthur Ashe himself, who reached the 1972 final and won the title in 1968.

The winner would also be the first Black American man in any Grand Slam final since MaliVai Washington at Wimbledon in 1996. The meeting itself is the first time two Black American men have played each other in a Grand Slam semifinal in the Open era.

The two arrived at this moment from opposite directions.

Shelton, the No. 8 seed, ended Carlos Alcaraz’s title defence in a five-set marathon that finished at 3:33am, the latest finish in US Open history. The 23-year-old took Alcaraz 6-7(5), 6-1, 6-3, 1-6, 7-6(10-6), and did it having entered with a career 0-17 record against Top-3 opponents.

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“The City of New York showed up tonight until 3 a.m.,” Shelton told the Arthur Ashe Stadium crowd, as reported by the Amsterdam News.

“I’m just hoping that my best friend, my sister up there, don’t have to be at work at 6 a.m. in three hours.”

Tiafoe’s route was longer and stranger. The No. 11 seed dropped the first two sets to fellow American Alex Michelsen before winning 5-7, 3-6, 7-5, 6-3, 7-6(10-6) in four hours and 38 minutes, the first man to come from two sets down in a US Open quarterfinal since Roger Federer in 2014. He later joked he had been “asleep in the first couple of hours”.

Third all-American major semi this century

Friday is only the third all-American men’s singles semifinal at a Grand Slam this century, after Taylor Fritz over Tiafoe here in 2024 and Andre Agassi over Robby Ginepri in 2005.

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Both players now lead all active American men with three major semifinals apiece. Tiafoe has reached each of his at Flushing Meadows, in 2022, 2024 and 2026. Shelton adds the 2023 US Open and the 2025 Australian Open to this run.

The ranking picture reflects the moment. Shelton has climbed to a career-high No. 4 in the ATP live rankings, Tiafoe to a career-high No. 8. Tiafoe leads the ATP Tour with 26 hard-court wins in 2026.

Shelton leads the series 3-1

Shelton leads the head-to-head 3-1, including a straight-sets win at last year’s Washington Open. Their two previous US Open meetings are split: Shelton took the 2023 quarter-final, Tiafoe won a five-set third-round contest in 2024.

Both quarter-finals were played on Tuesday, giving each man two days off before Friday’s semifinal at Arthur Ashe Stadium, though Shelton’s 3:33am finish left him a much shorter night.

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The winner plays for the title on Sunday.

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