Result: Shelton beat Tiafoe 4-6, 6-3, 6-3, 7-5 in Friday night’s semifinal at Arthur Ashe Stadium, dropping the first set before his serve and forehand took over; he finished with 47 winners to Tiafoe’s 27. The head to head is now 4-1 Shelton, and he plays top seed Alexander Zverev in Sunday’s final at 2 p.m. ET on ABC, his first Grand Slam championship match.
Shelton led Tiafoe 3-1 in their head-to-head heading into the all-American semifinal, but the rivalry is closer than the record looks. The two have split their meetings at Flushing Meadows, Shelton winning the 2023 quarterfinal and Tiafoe taking a five set third round match in 2024, and Tiafoe’s lone win is the only one of the four to go five sets. Friday is the rubber match in New York, with the winner guaranteed to become the first American man in a US Open final since Taylor Fritz in 2024 and the first with a shot at ending the drought that dates to Andy Roddick in 2003.
Every Shelton vs. Tiafoe Match
| Year | Tournament | Round | Winner | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | US Open (hard) | Quarterfinal | Shelton | 6-2, 3-6, 7-6 (7), 6-2 |
| 2024 | Houston (clay) | Final | Shelton | 7-5, 4-6, 6-3 |
| 2024 | US Open (hard) | Third round | Tiafoe | 4-6, 7-5, 6-7 (5), 6-4, 6-3 |
| 2025 | Washington (hard) | Quarterfinal | Shelton | 7-6 (2), 6-4 |
How the Rivalry Got Here
The first meeting set the tone. In the 2023 US Open quarterfinal, Tiafoe was the top-10 player coming off a semifinal run the year before and Shelton was a 20-year-old ranked 47th. Shelton won in four sets, and Tiafoe went into a slump afterward, losing 13 of his next 22 matches. Shelton beat him again in the 2024 Houston final for his first clay court title. Tiafoe finally got one back at the 2024 US Open, winning a five setter in the third round on the way to his second semifinal in New York, where he lost to Fritz. Their most recent match, the 2025 Washington quarterfinal, went to Shelton in straight sets.
The pattern across the four: Shelton’s serve against Tiafoe’s return is the mismatch. Tiafoe wins just over a quarter of points against first serves over the past year, and Shelton has been winning close to 70 percent of his own first serve points at this tournament even against elite returners. When Tiafoe has hung in, it has been by extending rallies and pushing matches deep, which is exactly how he won in 2024.
How Each Reached the Semifinal
Shelton (No. 8 seed, 38-13 this season) beat defending champion Carlos Alcaraz in a five set quarterfinal that lasted four hours and 28 minutes and ended at 3:33 a.m. Wednesday, closing it with a 146 mph ace. It was his first win over Alcaraz in four tries and the biggest of his career. This is his third major semifinal, after the 2023 US Open and the 2025 Australian Open, and he has never reached a final.
Tiafoe (No. 11 seed, 42-16 this season) trailed Alex Michelsen two sets to love and 3-0 in the fifth before winning 5-7, 3-6, 7-5, 6-3, 7-6 in four hours and 38 minutes. It is his third US Open semifinal in five years, which puts him alongside Andre Agassi as the only American men with three this century. He lost the previous two, to Alcaraz in 2022 and to Fritz in 2024, and like Shelton has never played a major final.
What to Watch
Recovery. Both played five setters in the quarterfinals, but Tiafoe finished his just after 7 p.m. Tuesday and Shelton was still on court at 3:33 a.m. Wednesday. Both have had two days off; Shelton’s body clock has had more to reset.
The crowd. Tiafoe thrives in Ashe night sessions and has said Shelton’s crowds here may be louder than his. The match is in the primetime slot, not before 7 p.m. ET on ESPN, and the stadium will be full.
The other side of the draw. Sunday’s final opponent is top seed Alexander Zverev, who won his first major at the French Open in June and beat Karen Khachanov 6-3, 7-6 (7), 7-6 (6) on Friday afternoon for his third straight major final. Times and channels for the weekend are on our US Open schedule page.
The Bottom Line
Shelton beat Tiafoe in four sets Friday night and now leads the rivalry 4-1, 2-1 at the US Open. He plays Zverev for the title Sunday at 2 p.m. ET on ABC, the best shot an American man has had at a first major title since 2003.