Shelton downs Tiafoe to set up Zverev showdown in U.S. Open final

Shelton downs Tiafoe to set up Zverev showdown in U.S. Open final BRIAN MAHONEY NEW YORK THE ASSOCIATED PRESS PUBLISHED 6 MINUTES AGO Open this photo in gallery: Ben Shelton, of the U.S., reacts during the men's singles semifinals of the U.S. Open against compatriot Frances Tiafoe. YUKI IWAMURA/THE ASSOCIATED PRESS COMMENTS SHARE SAVE FOR LATER Ben Shelton won the all-American duel with Frances Tiafoe and now he’s the one who can end his country’s long wait for another men’s Grand Slam champion. Shelton pulled out a 4-6, 6-3, 6-3, 7-5 victory on Friday and will play No. 1 seed Alexander Zverev on Sunday for the U.S. Open title. The No. 8-seeded Shelton had plenty of energy left after ousting defending champion Carlos Alcaraz in a quarter-final match that ended Wednesday at 3:33 a.m., the latest finish ever at the U.S. Open. Now he needs to stop French Open champion Zverev to give the host nation its first men’s major winner since Andy Roddick at the 2003 U.S. Open. “I’m going for it here, and I’m going to leave it all on the court,” Shelton said. “I hope you guys come and back me. Let’s do it for the USA.” Zverev beat Karen Khachanov 6-3, 7-6 (7), 7-6 (6) in the first semi-final. “Hopefully I can not make the American dream come true on Sunday,” Zverev said. The Shelton-Tiafoe match drew a star-studded crowd that included stars from sports, including Serena Williams, Jalen Brunson and of course U.S. soccer player Trinity Rodman, Shelton’s girlfriend; and actors Salma Hayek, Ben Stiller and Rami Malek. Shelton and Tiafoe treated the fans to a good show, after both had to come through match tiebreakers in the previous round. Shelton, a 23-year-old from Georgia who was less than a year old when Roddick won his title, advanced to his first major final. “This is where we want to be: at the tail end of this tournament,” Shelton said. “This is both of our favourite tournament in the world, our favourite court in the world and to be able to light it up in front of (this crowd) is the best feeling that there is.” Tiafoe fell to 0-3 in the U.S. Open semi-finals, the last two against fellow Americans. Taylor Fritz beat him in 2024 before losing to Jannik Sinner. After a ceremony to mark the 25th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks in which a giant American flag was unfurled across the court, it was Tiafoe who played the cleaner tennis in the first set. He committed just three unforced errors to 14 by Shelton, whose double-fault at 4-4 gave Tiafoe the…