NEW YORK, Sept 10 (Reuters) - Home fans will have an all-American U.S. Open semi-final to savour on Friday when Ben Shelton and Frances Tiafoe meet for a place in the final, while top seed Alexander Zverev renews a long-running rivalry with resurgent Russian Karen Khachanov.
Shelton and Tiafoe will take the Arthur Ashe Stadium spotlight after both produced dramatic quarter-final victories.
Eighth seed Shelton, the highest-ranked American in the draw, claimed the biggest win of his career by stunning defending champion Carlos Alcaraz in a five-set thriller that finished at 3:33 a.m., the latest conclusion in U.S. Open history.
The victory was Shelton's first against the seven-time Grand Slam champion and made him only the second American man in the last two decades to beat a top-three opponent at the U.S. Open, after his next opponent Tiafoe defeated Spanish great Rafael Nadal on his way to the 2022 semi-finals.
Tiafoe's quarter-final feat was no less impressive. The 11th seed has enjoyed a dream fortnight in New York and pulled off some magic of his own, battling back from two sets down to beat compatriot Alex Michelsen 5-7 3-6 7-5 6-3 7-6(10-6) and reach the U.S. Open semi-finals for a third time.
The all-American clash carries the hopes of a nation waiting for a men's singles Grand Slam champion since Andy Roddick won the U.S. Open in 2003, with the winner guaranteed a place in Sunday's final.
ZVEREV'S MOMENT
The second semi-final has a starkly different dynamic.
Zverev has moved through the draw with three straight-set victories since the third round, including a routine win over Botic van de Zandschulp in the quarter-finals, after arriving in New York as the reigning French Open champion and the only man to reach all four Grand Slam semi-finals this year.
The top seed is seeking a second major title after winning his maiden Grand Slam at Roland Garros in June and will face Khachanov, who is back in a major semi-final for the first time since the 2023 Australian Open.
Khachanov advanced when Belgian Alexander Blockx retired trailing 6-2 7-5 3-2, giving the 30-year-old a fresher route into the last four after his opponent struggled with a series of physical problems.
The Russian has rediscovered his best form in New York after falling to world number 50, having previously reached a career-high eighth.
Zverev and Khachanov, both in the 1990s generation, have met nine times, with the German holding a 6-3 edge. Their most notable encounter came in the 2021 Tokyo Olympics final, when Zverev won in straight sets to take gold, while their only previous Grand Slam meeting came at Roland Garros in 2018, where Zverev fought back from a set down to win in five.
Khachanov's return to the U.S. Open semi-finals, four years after his 2022 run, sets up another test of Zverev's bid to reach the final in New York for the first time since 2020, when he came within touching distance of the title before a heartbreaking defeat by Dominic Thiem.
U.S. OPEN ORDER OF PLAY ON FRIDAY (prefix number denotes seeding)
ARTHUR ASHE STADIUM (1600 GMT/1200 PM ET)
Women's doubles (final)
1-Katerina Siniakova (Czech Republic)/ Taylor Townsend (U.S.) v Ashlyn Krueger (U.S.)/Robin Montgomery (U.S.)
Men's singles (semi-finals)
1-Alexander Zverev (Germany) v Karen Khachanov (Russia)
11-Frances Tiafoe (U.S.) v 8-Ben Shelton (U.S.)
(Reporting by Janina Nuno Rios in New York; editing by Clare Fallon)
