One sequence was so full of “What? How?!” moments from both men that had the Arthur Ashe Stadium crowd on their feet before it ended and stayed there, clapping and cheering, through a replay on the video screens. Ultimately, several of the winners went Alcaraz’s way and too many of the mistakes came from Tiafoe’s racket. And so it was Alcaraz who reached his first Grand Slam final — and, in the process, gave himself a chance to become No. 1 at 19 — by ending Tiafoe’s streak at Flushing Meadows at 6-7 (6 ), 6-3, 6-1, 6-7 (5), 6-3 win on Friday night.
1 Related “It was so electric. I mean, tennis definitely lived up to the hype of the match. Unbelievable shot, points, overtime points, crazy shots … in crazy moments,” Tiafoe said. “Yeah, I was getting mad.” Alcaraz appeared to have taken control by taking nine of 10 games in a row and could have ended the night when he held a match point in the fourth set. But Tiafoe, who is ranked 26th, saved it and soon shouted, with colorful language mixed in for emphasis, “I’m putting my heart on the line!” Soon after, Tiafoe took a fifth set to improve his US Open record to 8-0 in tiebreaks. However, Alcaraz showed no signs of fatigue despite playing a third consecutive five-setter, including a 5-hour, 15-minute quarterfinal victory that ended at 2:50 a.m. on Thursday, the last finish in tournament history. He’s been better when he’s had to, taking four of the last five games. “I feel great right now,” Alcaraz said nearly two hours after defeating Tiafoe, then added: “I mean, a little tired.” 2: Of the 4 longest matches in Open history now played by Alcaraz — 5 hours, 15 minutes over Jannik Sinner in quarters and 4:19 over Tiafoe on Friday night3: Times in the Open era (since 1968) when a player has won five sets twice to reach a major final (Stefan Edberg in 1992, Andre Agassi in 2005, Alcaraz in 2022 — all at the US Open)8: Tiebreakers won by Tiafoe — against zero losses — at this year’s Open, the most by a man since 1970, when the tournament introduced tiebreakers13 hours, 28 minutes: Time spent on court by Alcaraz in his last 3 Open matches19 years, 130 days: Alcaraz’s age on Monday, when he could become the first teenager to debut as world No.1 if he beats Casper Rudd in the final50: Wins this season for Alcaraz, most on the men’s tour75: With Tiafoe out, consecutive championships without an American men’s champion (Andy Roddick, 2003 US Open) Now No. 3 Alcaraz will face No. 7 Casper Ruud for the championship on Sunday with so much on the line: The winner will become a first-time major champion and lead the standings next week. “It’s amazing to be able to fight for big things,” Alcaraz said. Alcaraz and Tiafoe made their big semi-final debuts and put on a hugely entertaining show for just over a set, and just over an hour, at the start and then again for the latter part of the fourth and the start of the fifth. Tiafoe, a 24-year-old from Maryland who eliminated 22-time Grand Slam champion Rafael Nadal in the fourth round, played to a crowd of more than 23,000 that included former first lady Michelle Obama, often asking for and receiving more boos. No surprise, given that he was the first American in the semifinals at Flushing Meadows in 16 years. “I feel like I let you down,” Tiafoe said during a rare opportunity for the loser of a game to address the crowd in an on-court interview. “That hurts. That hurts a lot, a lot.” Alcaraz, who is from Spain, is popular around the world, widely recognized as a future star of the sport and is now the youngest US Open men’s finalist from any country since Pete Sampras won the trophy at 19 in 1990. When Alcaraz went up 2-0 in the fourth, the crowd greeted him with a soccer chant of “Olé, Olé, Olé! Carlos!” “People love to see this guy play, that’s why they got behind him,” Tiafoe said. “Obviously I would have loved to win tonight, but I think tennis won tonight. I think people got what they expected. I wish I was the one getting the ‘W.’ Alcaraz then spoke first in English, then in Spanish, telling his supporters they helped him fight for “every point, every ball” and pounding his chest as he said this was “for my family, for the team me, for me, for all of you.” There were so many memorable exchanges and scenes between Tiafoe and Alcaraz. One came in the third game of the second set when Alcaraz saved a break point and continued to hold. A smiling Tiafoe jokingly climbed over the net to Alcaraz’s side, as if to shake hands at the end of the match. If this semi-final had actually been completed then and there, no one could complain about the product. It would run for a total of 4 hours and 19 minutes. They wore matching shirts — red on the front, white on the back, burgundy on the side — and were even for long stretches, even as high as 6th in the first tiebreaker. Alcaraz, who by then had already saved four set points, won a fifth by sending a backhand, then made the conversion easy for Tiafoe with a double fault. As the crowd roared, Alcaraz hung his head, went to the side of the seat and hit his gear bag with his racket. He regrouped and broke to take the second set and a pivotal moment arrived with Alcaraz serving at 5-3 but facing a break point. He smashed a crosscourt forehand winner to snuff out that opportunity for Tiafoe, who started a run in which Alcaraz took 11 straight points and 19 of 22 to take that set and a 4-0 lead in the third. As with that forehand, Alcaraz often rips the ball with abandon — and, somehow, also with precision, targeting the lines and finding them. She won at least three first set points with shots that caught the outside edge of the white paint without a margin. After one, Tiafoe went for a little exchange with Alcaraz coach Juan Carlos Ferrero, the 2003 French Open champion who was briefly No. 1 himself. Make no mistake, though: the Alcaraz is nothing special. He has a varied game on all courts and showed off his skills by scoring points through acrobatic volleys, feathery drop shots and perfectly parabolic lo.bs. Aside from that lull in the second and third sets, and late in the fifth, Tiafoe was also outstanding, having the time of his life. “I’m going to come back,” Tiafoe said, “and I’m going to win this thing one day.” The Associated Press contributed to this report.
