Tiafoe Rallies From 5-3 Down in Third Set to Reach 3rd U.S. Open Semifinal

Q: How did a young tennis star's dream of a historic U.S. Open victory turn into a heartbreaking nightmare in just one game?

Alex Michelsen’s dream collapsed in one disastrous service game. Up two sets and serving at 5-4 in the third, the 21-year-old was within a game of the biggest win of his career and a first Grand Slam semifinal. Instead, he opened that game with two double faults, failed to land a first serve, and handed Frances Tiafoe the opening he had been waiting for. That single lapse flipped a match Michelsen had largely controlled. He had dictated play with a strong serve and aggressive baseline hitting while Tiafoe struggled badly early, including a poor first-serve percentage in the second set. But once Michelsen failed to serve it out, Tiafoe broke back, held, then broke again to steal the set 7-5. The psychological swing was decisive. Tiafoe settled, found his first serve, attacked more with his forehand and fed off the Arthur Ashe crowd. Michelsen still showed fight, even moving ahead 3-0 in the fifth, but Tiafoe came back again, saved two match points at 5-4, and forced a deciding super tiebreak. In that tiebreak, Tiafoe was steadier under pressure, winning it 10-6 with a forehand pass down the line. For Michelsen, the nightmare was not just losing after being so close; it was seeing one shaky game trigger the comeback that ended his historic run. The emotion of that collapse was clear when he broke down in tears and Tiafoe embraced him at the net.

3 articles · Updated · The New York Times · Sep 8

Frances Tiafoe saved a quarterfinal that was slipping away, beating Alex Michelsen 5-7, 3-6, 7-5, 6-3, 7-6(10-6) after trailing by two sets and 5-3 in the third.
Michelsen, 21, cracked while serving at 5-4 for the match, opening with two double faults and missing every first serve in the game as Tiafoe seized the break and the momentum.
Tiafoe had looked flat for more than two hours—landing just 35% of first serves in the second set—but rediscovered his serve late, firing key aces when he was two points from defeat at 4-5 in the fifth.
The comeback sends Tiafoe into his third U.S. Open semifinal since 2022, where he will face Ben Shelton after ending Michelsen's breakout run as the world No. 46 chased the biggest win of his career.