After being ruled out, Tiafoe forced a fifth set, delighting the Arthur Ashe Stadium crowd — which included Michelle Obama. But it was the 19-year-old and world No. 4 from Spain who came through 6-7(6), 6-3, 6-1, 6-7(5), 6-3 in four hours, 18 minutes. Alcaraz will face Norway’s Casper Ruud, the No. 5 seed, in Sunday’s final, and the stakes are high: The winner will rise to No. 1 in the world for the first time. The 22-year-old Tiafoe, 24, was trying to become the first American men’s Grand Slam finalist since Andy Roddick at Wimbledon in 2009. Roddick was the last American to reach the final at the US Open, in 2006. Roddick is the last American to to win a major, which came at the 2003 US Open. If Rudd, 23, were to win the title, he would make the biggest jump to world No. 1 in men’s tennis history. He entered the US Open ranked seventh. She defeated Russian Karen Khachanov, the No. 27 seed, 7-6(5), 6-2, 5-7, 6-2 in Friday’s semifinal. If Alcaraz wins, he will become the youngest world No.1. If he climbs to the top, he would tie Carlos Moya, Andre Agassi and Pete Sampras for the longest jumps to world No. 1 (from No. 4). “I think the fairest thing is that we both get to the final and whoever wins the final gets to No. 1 in the world,” Rudd told reporters as Alcaraz played in his semifinal. “I think that would be the ideal situation.” This will be Rudd’s second appearance in a grand slam final, having lost in the French Open final earlier this year to Rafael Nadal. Nadal, who lost to Tiafoe in the round of 16, would have risen to world No. 1 had Rudd and Alcaraz both lost in the US Open semifinals. This will be Alcaraz’s first grand slam final. This year saw four first-time US Open men’s semifinalists for the first time since the inaugural US Championship in 1881 (William Glyn, Robert Gould Shaw, Edward Gray, Richard Sears). Sears won that title. [Original story, published at 9:29 a.m. ET] For years, tennis fans have dreaded the day when the sport’s “Big Three” would finally decide to hang up their rackets. Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic are arguably the three greatest players of all time — whichever order you rank them in depends on personal preference — and their inevitable departures from the Tour will leave a hole that no one can fill. player will not be able to cover. However, the rise of youngsters such as Daniil Medvedev, Alex Zverev and Stefanos Tsitsipas in recent years has provided enough evidence to suggest that there will be no shortage of entertainment and drama once the ‘Big Three’ finally decide to call it. This season, fans saw the emergence of another future superstar in Carlos Alcaraz, while Frances Tiafoe, now 24, finally came of age at the US Open and claimed a grand slam success that many have been anticipating for a few years. . Hailing from the Murcia region of Spain and a clay court specialist, Alcaraz has naturally drawn comparisons to his compatriot and idol Nadal. But while the 19-year-old has huge respect for the player he looked up to as a child, Alcaraz does not want to be labeled ‘the next Nadal’ or ‘mini Nadal’, as has happened on more than one occasion during his fledgling career. of. Instead, as he told CNN Sport in March, he wants to carve out his own legacy and be known only as Alcaraz. READ: Carlos Alcaraz reaches first Grand Slam semi-final after marathon late night with Jannik Sinner He’s certainly come a long way to achieve that already. After winning his maiden ATP title in 2021, Alcaraz enjoyed a further flourish in 2022, winning four titles — including two Masters 1000 tournaments — to climb to the No. 4 ranking in the world. “I mean, it all came so fast, two Masters 1000 titles — one on hard court, one on clay,” he told CNN’s Don Riddell in May. “Well, if at the beginning of the season, someone told me that I would achieve these tournaments — and Barcelona — I didn’t believe it, I didn’t believe him. For me, I don’t believe it I know what to say about an incredible month for me. “It’s good that everyone is talking about you and they’re going to see you fight. For me, it’s very good. But it gives me a lot of strength to play on the best courts against the best players in the world. So for me, it’s pretty cool.” He entered this year’s French Open in impressive form and was considered by many to be among the favorites to win, but lost in the quarter-finals to Zverev. Now in New York, he has reached the semi-finals of a grand slam for the first time and as the highest player left in the draw will be the favorite to claim the first major title of his career. “It feels great to be in my first semi-final at a grand slam,” Alcaraz said after his epic five-set win over Janek Sinner. “I feel better getting to the semifinals here at the US Open… This tournament is amazing. The crowd is amazing, I’d say the best in the world. I mean, the energy I get on this court at 3 in the morning, it’s been unbelievable.”
“Cinderella Story”
Tiafoe, five years Alcaraz’s senior, won his maiden ATP title in 2018 and many believed it would be a victory that would spark a rapid rise to the top. Although still touted as a rising star, that rise has been steady rather than meteoric. Last month, Tiafoe reached a career-high ranking of No. 24 in the world — he’s currently 26th — and this year he’s shown flashes of the quality that many predicted would propel him to the top. But make no mistake, given Tiafoe’s disappointing form at the US Open, there was no sign he would make a deep run in New York. However, the big Washington, DC native has mentioned on more than one occasion how the home support for Arthur Ash has pushed him to new heights. By winning his quarterfinal, Tiafoe became the first black American to reach a US Open semifinal since Ashe in 1972. His father, Constant Tiafoe, started working at the Junior Tennis Champions Center in Washington in 1999 and eventually moved into one of its empty warehouses while working around the clock. READ: How Frances Tiafoe went from sleeping to tennis center to US Open semi-finals His twin boys, Francis and Franklin, sometimes stayed with him, sleeping on a massage table while their mother worked night shifts as a nurse. The unusual gateway to the sport gave Tiafoe the opportunity to start developing his skills and once he started training at the facility, he didn’t look back. “Obviously, I wasn’t the rich kid or I didn’t have all the new stuff or whatever. But I was just living life. I could play tennis for free, the sport I loved,” she told CNN Sport in 2015. Adding that she wouldn’t change her his upbringing for the world. He was asked Wednesday what message people should take from his story. “I mean, anybody can do it, honestly,” he said, adding that his passion and obsession is tennis. “Obviously, this is a cliché, but I think if you’re really passionate about something… Everyone has a gift.” CNN’s Jill Martin contributed to this report.
