(September 8, 2026) FLUSHING MEADOWS, NY – In a five-set battle between Americans, No. 11-seeded Frances Tiafoe rallied past World No. 46 Alex Michelsen, 5-7, 3-6, 7-5, 6-3, 7-6 (10-6), to reach the semifinals of the US Open on Tuesday. The match lasted 4 hours and 39 minutes.
Michelsen served for the match at 5-4 in the third set and could not seal the deal.
“I feel the first three sets I was on top of him,” admitted Michelsen. “I feel like he didn’t really — he wasn’t playing like Frances. Then I kind of let him back in at 5-4.
“Then after that, he was playing, you know, like Frances does on Ashe. After that, it was a dogfight. In the fourth set I wasn’t fully there mentally, but fifth set I’m super proud of myself the way I handled myself. I was playing every single point full. No complaining about anything to anyone. You know, I did everything right in the fifth. Just didn’t go my way.”
“That’s tennis, man,” Tiafoe said in his news conference. “You’re going to win some; you’re going to lose some. I wasn’t thinking about that. I wasn’t thinking about how many tough ones I’ve had.
“If anything, like, I’m bound to get lucky at this point, right, because I’ve had those, but I’ve also won a lot of great matches in slams and other tournaments.”
“I was just thinking about trying to be in the moment and continuing to push, because yeah, it’s the quarterfinals of a slam. You got to leave it out there.”
“At the end, I was cool with whatever result, because I was giving him what I had that day, even though it wasn’t my best stuff, but I was giving him everything I had,” said Tiafoe.
“You’re four points away from making a semifinal of the US Open, and you know, it’s a horrible way to look at it obviously, because you can only play one point at a time,” said Michelsen.
“Honestly, sometimes my arm, I’m like, Oh, it’s so tight, but I wasn’t that tight. I just kind of missed a couple of serves, and after I double faulted twice, I was, like, Oh, here we go. It’s not good.
“I feel like I just handed it to him. Then after that he started playing really good.”
“But he’s a hell of a player, man,” Tiafoe said on-court after the match. “I mean, he easily could have won today so shout out to Alex Michelsen.”
Tiafoe consoled Michelsen at the end of the match by hugging him.
“I wasn’t saying much,” Michelsen said when he and Tiafoe were hugging. “I was trying to keep it together, and I didn’t do a good job of that. He was saying a lot of nice personal things.
“You’ll be there. When I’m older, you’re going to be here, and we’re going it play again in this type of circumstance. All that good stuff.
“He’s a great guy for consoling me in that moment.”
Michelsen left the court with a towel on his head, but lifted his arm to acknowledge the applause from the crowd.
“We’re just good friends,” Tiafoe said. “Maybe if it was, like, a foreign or European dude, I probably would have had a bigger immediate reaction. I mean, I really like Alex. I really, really do. And I just wanted to come up there and just dap him up.
“I didn’t think it was going to be as long as it was, but I understand the moment. He was definitely crying on my shoulders. Yeah, we just had some words for each other, and that was it.”
“We’ve seen so many epics in five-setters,” said the 28-year-old.” “Do I love five-setters? Absolutely not. There’s a lot of times where I’m up two sets to love, I would love to shake hands and go home. But it’s tennis, man.
“I grew up watching so many incredible five-setters. Novak-Rafa, Federer-Rafa, epic five-setters that go on for hours and hours. That’s the history of the game. You do that, I feel like your slam doesn’t mean as much personally if you get it done in a two-out-of-three format.”
Tiafoe will play the winner of the Ben Shelton – Carlos Alcaraz match for a chance at the final.
“I mean, they’re both incredible player.” noted Tiafoe. “I mean, that’s what you want, right? At this point, it’s not meant to be easy against any guy, semifinals of a major. You’re supposed to play some of the best players in the world.
“Obviously Carlos has been looking great. He’s a tough task for anyone. We’re all pretty shocked how he’s been playing. We’ll see what Ben does tonight. Obviously Ben is also a different task. Lefty, going for broke, and has the all-court game.
“Carlos, also all-court game, super fast, and kind of suffocates you with his movement and also his power from the ground. They both have their things they do incredibly well, but ultimately it’s going to be a great match today, and may the best man win.”
“I’m going to enjoy this one, though. Let’s go!” he said to the crowd in Arthur Ashe Stadium.
This is the third time that Tiafoe has reached the final four of the US Open. He lost the first one in 2022 to Alcaraz, who went on to win his first major title, and the second in 2024 to fellow countryman Taylor Fritz, who lost in the final to Jannik Sinner.
Michelsen’s feeling after the match when he spoke to the media:
“Yeah, nothing good. You know, it’s a tough match, but you know, I fought as hard as I could, and it just didn’t go my way today. Got a little tight at 5-4 in the third.
“At the end of the day, made my first quarterfinal of a slam. Lost to, like I said in my other press conference, someone that is probably a top-5 player here in Frances. Trying to keep my head high, and yeah, on to the next one.”
“Carlos is a fan favorite where he goes. Ben has had a lot of fans as well. Me and Ben have played two great matches here. Yeah, no, I’m not really thinking about a fanfare type thing. I’m just thinking about a great battle come either of those guys.”
“Can’t downplay it at all,” Tioafoe said about the match. “The moment is huge. I’ve won a lot of great matches here; I’ve lost a lot of tough matches here as well. It feels amazing to get this done.
“You know, and the way it happened, right. Two sets to love down, him I’m serving for it, I’m down breaks early in the fifth. You know, there were so many times where I was down. I could have been down a double break in the third.
“I mean, it was crazy. I mean, it was definitely a Braveheart-type win. It ranks pretty high in probably all-time wins in a slam. I don’t know where, but it ranks pretty high.”
