Frances Tiafoe Mounts Epic Five-Set Comeback Against Alex Michelsen To Reach US Open Semifinals

Frances Tiafoe reached his third U.S. Open semifinal on Tuesday after beating Alex Michelsen 5-7, 3-6, 7-5, 6-3, 7-6 (10-6). He took 4 hours, 38 minutes to finish the comeback after losing the first two sets and falling 3-0 behind in the fifth.

The No. 11 seed then jogged to the other side of the net, where the 22-year-old Michelsen cried on his shoulder after the end of his first career major quarterfinal. Tiafoe has also reached the final four in 2022 and 2024.

Match Turning Points

Michelsen had looked untouchable before this match. He was the only man in the tournament who had not dropped a set, and he served for the match with a 5-4 lead in the third set.

But he started badly. Michelsen opened with consecutive double-faults and Tiafoe broke when Michelsen could not put away a shot at the net. Michelsen still stayed in control for long stretches and had Tiafoe under pressure through the first three sets.

“I feel the first three sets I was on top of him. I feel like he didn’t really — he wasn’t playing like Frances. Then I kind of let him back in at 5-4,” Michelsen said. “Then after that, he was playing like Frances does on Ashe. After that, it was a dogfight.”

The danger did not stop there. Michelsen broke early in the fifth for a 3-0 lead, with Tiafoe spiking his racket to the court in frustration at one point. Tiafoe recovered again, then took control in the match tiebreak by winning three straight points for a 7-4 lead and drilling a 135 mph ace after Michelsen won the next two points.

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Tiafoe's Own View

Tiafoe did not hide how poorly he felt he began.

“It wasn’t good, let’s put it that way. It wasn’t good,” Tiafoe said. “Three out of five is a blessing, because you have time to get it together. I definitely waited for the last minute.”

He planned to watch some of the next match.

“I’m going to enjoy this one, though. Let’s go!” Tiafoe told the crowd in Arthur Ashe Stadium.

Semifinal And Ranking Stakes

Another big test awaits. Tiafoe will play the winner of the late match between defending champion Carlos Alcaraz and No. 8 Ben Shelton.

That result carries weight beyond one semifinal place. The winner would guarantee the Americans have someone in Sunday’s final as they seek their first men's Grand Slam title since 2003.

Tiafoe has recent history with both the event and the drought. He lost to Alcaraz in 2022, when the Spaniard won his first of seven Grand Slam titles. Two years later, Tiafoe lost to fellow American Taylor Fritz when the U.S. came closest to ending a men’s drought that dates to Andy Roddick’s title in Flushing Meadows.

The comeback also brings a rankings boost. Tiafoe will return to the top 10 for the first time in three years in the next rankings.

American Records And Milestones

The win put Tiafoe in rare company. He joined Andre Agassi as the only American men to reach three U.S. Open semifinals in this century.

For Michelsen, the defeat was especially hard. The world No. 46 was playing his first career major quarterfinal and fell to 0-6 in matches that go to a fifth set.