Frances Tiafoe’s storybook run came to an end at the hands of Carlos Alcaraz in the US Open semifinals.
The first week of the U.S. Open was all about Serena Williams leaving.
The second week has been all about Frances Tiafoe arriving.
Tiafoe, the 24-year-old son of immigrants from Sierra Leone who grew up in Hyattsville, Md., stirred the imagination of the tennis world — and the sports world in general — by upsetting 22-time Grand Slam champion Rafael Nadal and then becoming the first American man since 2006 to reach the U.S. Open semifinals, and the first black man since Arthur Ashe in 1972.
But his dramatic run came to end Friday night at the hands of the game’s preeminent rising star, 19-year-old Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz, 6-7(5), 6-3, 6-1, 6-7 (5), 6-3 in 4 hours, 18 minutes, in front of a full house in Arthur Ashe Stadium. Michelle Obama, Larry Fitzgerald and Jon Bon Jovi were among the stars contributing to an electric atmosphere in Ashe, where courtside seats were going for $6,000 and nosebleeds for $300.
“I gave everything I had, I gave everything I had the last two weeks,” Tiafoe told Patrick McEnroe and the crowd before limping off the court to cheers.
“Honestly, I came here wanting to win the U.S. Open. I feel like I let you guys down, this one really hurts. You’re a helluva player [he told Alcaraz], a helluva person. I’m going to come back and I will win this thing one day, I’m sorry guys.”
Alcaraz, the No. 3 seed, will face No. 5 Casper Ruud of Norway, in Sunday’s final with each playing for his first major title and the No. 1 world ranking.
“Well, it’s amazing to be able to fight for big things,” Alcaraz said. “First time in a final of a Grand Slam, I can see the No. 1 in the world but at the same time it’s so far away. I have one more to go against a player who plays unbelievable. He played the final of a Grand Slam in Roland Garros but this is my first time. I’m going to give everything. I will have to handle the nerves of being in a final of a Grand Slam but obviously I’m really really happy.
