Frances Tiafoe Was Two Sets Down at the US Open — Then One Game Changed Everything
NEW YORK — Frances Tiafoe looked finished.
Two sets down. A break behind in the third. His younger American rival was serving for the match. And after a dazzling opening week at Flushing Meadows, Tiafoe suddenly appeared minutes away from another painful US Open exit.
Then the match turned.
The 28-year-old American produced one of the most dramatic comebacks of the 2026 tournament, battling past compatriot Alex Michelsen 5-7, 3-6, 7-5, 6-3, 7-6(6) on Tuesday to reach the US Open semifinals for the third time in five years. The official US Open site lists the marathon quarterfinal at 4 hours and 39 minutes.
The victory keeps alive something American men's tennis has been chasing for more than two decades: its first Grand Slam singles champion since Andy Roddick won the 2003 US Open.
Michelsen was one game away from finishing it
For much of the afternoon inside Arthur Ashe Stadium, it was Michelsen — not Tiafoe — who looked ready for the semifinal stage.
The unseeded 22-year-old, playing the deepest Grand Slam run of his career, took the opening set 7-5 and followed it with a 6-3 second set. He then broke Tiafoe immediately in the third.
Michelsen eventually served for the match at 5-4.
That was the opening Tiafoe needed.
Two double faults helped expose Michelsen's nerves, while Tiafoe finally found the aggressive rhythm that had carried him through the earlier rounds. He broke back for 5-5 and then took the next two games to steal the third set 7-5.
From there, the entire mood inside Ashe changed.
Tiafoe grabbed the first three games of the fourth set and eventually forced a decider, transforming what had appeared to be a straight-sets defeat into another roaring New York spectacle.
A final-set shootout decided everything
Neither player disappeared in the fifth.
Michelsen, whose run included a second-round upset of No. 16 seed Brandon Nakashima, continued attacking and finished the quarterfinal with 21 aces, according to Reuters' report carried by CNA.
But Tiafoe had the edge when the match reached its most pressurized moments.
The deciding set went all the way to a match tiebreak before the No. 11 seed finally completed the comeback, winning the tiebreak 10-6 to seal his place among the tournament's final four.
The celebration was brief.
Tiafoe quickly approached an emotional Michelsen at the net, embracing his fellow American as the 22-year-old fought back tears after coming so close to the biggest victory of his career.
Tiafoe's New York connection is becoming difficult to ignore
Few players have built as strong a relationship with the US Open crowd as Tiafoe.
Earlier in the tournament, he defeated 2021 champion Daniil Medvedev 7-6(1), 6-4, 7-6(6) in the fourth round, overcoming a career head-to-head record in which Medvedev had previously dominated him. Reuters reported that Tiafoe had been 1-6 against Medvedev before that breakthrough victory.
The American had also become especially comfortable on Louis Armstrong Stadium, where his combination of athleticism, improvisation and crowd interaction has made him one of the tournament's biggest home favorites.
Arthur Ashe Stadium, however, is where his biggest US Open memories — and biggest disappointments — have been written.
Tiafoe reached his first semifinal here in 2022, pushing Carlos Alcaraz through five sets before losing 6-7(6), 6-3, 6-1, 6-7(5), 6-3. Alcaraz went on to win the championship.
Two years later, Tiafoe returned to the semifinals but again fell in five sets, this time to fellow American Taylor Fritz, who won 4-6, 7-5, 4-6, 6-4, 6-1 and became the first American man since 2009 to reach a Grand Slam singles final.
Now Tiafoe has earned a third chance.
America's 23-year wait is still alive
The wider stakes are impossible to miss.
Ahead of the quarterfinals, the 2026 US Open had three American men — Tiafoe, Michelsen and Ben Shelton — in the last eight, matching the country's highest number at this tournament since 1995. Six American singles players overall reached the quarterfinals, the most at the US Open since 2002.
Yet American men's tennis remains without a Grand Slam singles champion since Roddick's title in New York 23 years ago.
Tiafoe is now only two victories away from changing that.
But the road gets considerably more dangerous from here.
At the time of this article's verification, his semifinal opponent had not yet been decided. Tiafoe was set to face the winner of the blockbuster quarterfinal between defending champion Carlos Alcaraz and eighth-seeded Ben Shelton.
An Alcaraz victory would create a particularly compelling rematch: the Spaniard was the man who ended Tiafoe's breakthrough US Open run in that unforgettable five-set semifinal four years ago.
A Shelton victory, meanwhile, would guarantee an American man a place in the championship match.
Either way, Tiafoe's comeback against Michelsen has changed the equation.
He survived a match he appeared certain to lose. He survived four hours and 39 minutes of pressure. And for the third time, New York has put him within touching distance of a Grand Slam final.
This time, the question is no longer whether Tiafoe can reach the final weekend.
It is whether his third opportunity will finally be the one he finishes.
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