Tiafoe downs Rublev, reaches semis
NEW YORK. – With the hopes of a nation resting on his shoulders, American Frances Tiafoe rose to the occasion on Wednesday (Thursday in Manila) by reaching his first Grand Slam semifinal with a 7-6(3), 7-6(0), 6-4 win over Russian Andrey Rublev at the US Open.
Not since Andy Roddick in 2003 has a US man won the title at Flushing Meadows and the pressure was on for the 24-year-old to build on his stunning win over second seed Rafa Nadal in the fourth round.
He did not disappoint, launching 18 aces and 46 winners in a dominant performance, injecting new excitement among the home crowd after 23-time Grand Slam winner Serena Williams bowed out following what is expected to be her final appearance in the third round.
In the other match, Carlos Alcaraz saved a match point in the fourth set before digging deep in the decider to beat Jannik Sinner in a five-set thriller and reach the semis.
The Spanish teenager collapsed on his back after the match lasting more than five hours concluded at 2:50 a.m., beating the previous record for the latest finish of 2:26 a.m. set in three matches in 1993, 2012 and 2014.
The 6-3, 6-7(7), 6-7(0), 7-5, 6-3 win keeps alive Alcaraz’s hopes of winning a maiden Grand Slam title and claiming the world No. 1 ranking.
“I felt way comfortable coming out today than when I was playing Rafa,” Tiafoe said.
“Today I felt really comfortable, and it showed in my performance.”
Rublev put up a fight for two sets, but his game unraveled as Tiafoe stormed through the second set tiebreak, shouting out in anger, and whacking his racket after an ace from the American flew past him.
“That’s the best tiebreak I’ll ever play,” said Tiafoe.
The Russian bit down on a tennis ball and sat with his face buried in a towel after Tiafoe triumphed in a 16-shot rally to get the only break of the match in the seventh game of the third set.
Wearing a bracelet that read: “Why not me?” Tiafoe sealed it with an ace to become the first Black American man to reach a US Open semifinal since Arthur Ashe 50 years ago, playing in the stadium named after the late former champion.
“I just love playing in front of a packed crowd. I feel like that’s why you train hard. Show the world what you can do. Don’t shy away from it. Go to it,” he told reporters.
Alcaraz put his finger to his ear in the fifth set after he raced across court to catch up with a Sinner drop shot and fired it past the Italian to set up break point, bringing fans at Arthur Ashe Stadium to their feet. — Reuters
