Ben Shelton reaches his maiden US Open final: Details
What's the story
In a thrilling all-American clash, Ben Shelton defeated Frances Tiafoe with a scoreline of 4-6, 6-3, 6-3, 7-5. The victory has propelled Shelton into the finals of the US Open where he will face top seed Alexander Zverev. This is a historic moment as Shelton becomes the first Black American man since Arthur Ashe in 1972 to reach a US Open final. The youngster is now gearing up for his maiden Grand Slam final.
Milestone achievement
Shelton's remarkable journey to the final
Shelton, seeded eighth, had a remarkable run in the tournament.
He had previously stunned defending champion Carlos Alcaraz in a quarterfinal match that ended at 3:33am on Wednesday. The match was the latest finish ever recorded at the US Open.
Now, Shelton is looking to stop French Open champion Zverev from giving America its first men's major winner since Andy Roddick's victory at the 2003 US Open.
Title pursuit
Shelton aims for more history in New York
Shelton, who won the 2022 NCAA singles title at Florida, is also hoping to be the first former college player to win a major since John McEnroe at the 1984 US Open.
Former college players have lost 11 consecutive major finals since then.
Shelton will now face Zverev in what promises to be an exciting final showdown on Sunday.
Stats
Here are the match stats
Shelton recorded as many as 20 aces while Tiafoe managed just three.
The American star had a win percentage of 77 on his first serve and 60 on his second.
He also committed three double-faults while securing five of his 11 break points.
Shelton overall finished the game with 128 points, 21 more than Tiafoe's tally.
Feats
Here are his feats
As per Opta, only three players this century have conceded more games en route to a maiden Grand Slam final than Shelton (105).
The youngster has become just the fourth left-hander to reach a Grand Slam final this century.
At 23 years and 325 days at the tournament start, Shelton became the youngest player from outside Europe to reach a Grand Slam final since Juan Martin del Potro (US Open 2009).