In the third, Michelsen served the score of the match 5-4. She opened the match with two double faults, missed her first serve and was broken. “You’re four points away from making the semi-finals of the US Open and that’s obviously a terrible way to look at it because you can only play one point at a time,” the 22-year-old said. “Honestly, sometimes my arm is oh so tight, but I wasn’t that tight. Just kind of missed a couple of serves, and after double-faulting twice, I’m like, oh, here we go. That’s not good. I feel like I just gave it to him.”
In the end, the hug lasted longer than either of them expected. “As soon as I hugged her, I saw she was already crying,” Tiafoe said. “I was like, ‘Man, I know. I know how much it hurts, but you’ll be here many more times, man.”
He had climbed up there without thinking about it. “We’re just good friends. Maybe if it was a foreign or European guy I might have had a bigger reaction. I really like Alex. I really love. And I just wanted to go up there and just pet her. I didn’t think it would be this long, but I understand the moment. She was definitely crying on my shoulder.”
Michelsen’s version came from within it. “I didn’t say much. I was trying to hold it together and I wasn’t doing it well. He said very nice personal things. You will be there. When I grow up, you’ll be here and we’ll play in this situation again.” He is a great guy to comfort me in that moment.
Tiafoe waits until the last minute and finds his level
Tiafoe was relentless in the two and a half hours leading up to the turnaround. “Slow, it was sad. I am a harsh critic of myself. It wasn’t good, let’s put it this way. Three out of five is a blessing because you have time to put it together. I definitely waited until the last minute.”
What changed was court access rather than intent. “I was able to finally get some momentum going, see some balls in the court, get in some rallies, get to the net, hit some good shots to get the crowd going. You see the window opening a little bit, you see the turning points. One point can, suddenly four hours later, you’re fighting for just one point.”
It’s his third career Grand Slam semifinal, with all three coming here after 2022 and 2024, making him the tenth American in the Open era to reach three or more US Open semifinals and second this century to Andre Agassi.
That moves him to No. 8 in the rankings and back into the top 10 for the first time since September 2023, and it denies Arthur Fils a top 10 debut after this tournament. Tiafone lost 6-4, 4-6, 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 to compatriot Martin Dammy, Japan’s Rei Sakamoto 6-3, 7-6 (2), 7-5, Monegasque 22nd seed Valentin Vacherot 6-4, 6-2, 6-4, Danini Medveid and Danini Medveil 6-4 (1), 6-4, 7-6 (6).
Michelsen is down a set for the first time and then three
Michelsen came into action as the only player in the men’s draw to not drop a set after a 12-0 6-4, 6-1, 6-0 win over Italy’s Federico Cina, 16th seed Brandon Nakashima 6-3, 6-4, 6-4, Spain 7-3-4, and Spain’s Daniel Meri 6-4. (6-6, 6, 5), 7-6 (6), 6-4, 6-4 of Argentine pianist Thomas Martin Etcheverry, number 27. Ranked 46th and making his first Grand Slam quarterfinal, he has never won above the ATP 250 level.
His own score split the match at the same time as Tiafoe’s. “I was on top of him in the first three sets. He didn’t play like Francis. Then I kind of let him come back at 5-4. After that he played like Francis played on Ash. In the fourth set I wasn’t quite there mentally, but in the fifth set I’m extremely proud of myself for how I handled myself. I was doing everything right.
US Open 2026, Men’s Singles Quarterfinals
A. Zverev (1) vs B. Van de Zandschulp – did not play
K. Khachanov vs A. Blockx (28) – did not play
F. Tiafoe (11) d. A. Michelsen: 5-7, 3-6, 7-5, 6-3, 7-6(6)
B. Shelton (8) vs C. Alcaraz (2) – did not play
