Coming into his first Grand Slam quarterfinal at the US Open, there was always a chance Alex Michelsen would end his day in tears, whether in joy or disappointment. Unfortunately for the 22-year-old, it was the latter on Arthur Ashe as he suffered a brutal five-set loss against his American compatriot, Frances Tiafoe, after a match that lasted over four and a half hours. Tiafoe, however, understood the significance of the moment for his younger compatriot and did not shy away from showing his appreciation in a classy gesture at the net.
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As soon as the match point was done, Tiafoe restrained himself from going into any wild celebrations. Rather, the No. 11 seed rushed to the net to hug Michelsen, who broke into tears on Tiafoe’s shoulders, having let multiple opportunities to win the match go by. That was reminiscent of old losses for Tiafoe himself, who had his share of five-set heartbreaks in New York.
“As soon as I hugged him, I see he was crying already and I was like, ‘Man, I know. I’ve been there, I’ve been there twice, to be fair, lost in five,” said Tiafoe on ESPN. “He’s young and hasn’t been there. We’re super tight, we’ve always had a great relationship, we laugh at each other all the time. He’s one of my good buddies on tour. I know how much that hurts. I know how much he wanted it today, something that you dream about. So I told him, ‘You’re gonna be here so many more times, and I’m gonna be in a rocking chair when you do so.'”
Tiafoe’s empathy comes from a personal place, as the World No.11 had been thwarted in five-setters in a couple of US Open semifinals before. Back in 2022, he lost a thriller to Carlos Alcaraz and gave an emotional on-court interview. The heartbreak would be back for him in 2024, when he was in a seemingly commanding position in his semifinal against Taylor Fritz, but lost his serve rhythm and physical condition to lose in five sets.
However, against Michelsen, who lost his serve in the opening game, one would have thought Tiafoe would capitalize on the start. However, the unseeded 22-year-old broke Tiafoe right back to level the first set and take a 3-1 lead. Tiafoe got it back at 3-3, but could not seem to shake Michelsen’s confidence, who won the set 7-5.
If that was not enough, he pushed Tiafoe to the brink by breaking him twice in the second set to win 6-3. Things looked grim for the 28-year-old veteran, as Michelsen got a break in the third set as well and had the opportunity to serve it out at 5-4, but the pressure got the better of him, and he faulted.
That was the turning point. Until then, Tiafoe felt the crowd in attendance was “asleep,” and he felt the same. But after Michelsen’s fault, he found a rhythm and won the next two games to secure the third set 7-5.
By then, the momentum had shifted. Tiafoe took a 3-0, then a 4-2 lead in the fourth set, wrapping it up at 6-3. Michelsen struck back in the fifth set to lead 3-0, but just like in the third set, the younger American could not hold on to the lead as Tiafoe brought it back to 3-3, eventually taking the set to a ten-point tiebreaker.
“He Should Have Won Today”: Frances Tiafoe’s Uplifting Message to Alex Michelsen
The tiebreak is where the difference in experience showed. Frances Tiafoe hit winners at will and, at 4-4, won the next three points to take a decisive 5-4 lead. After a back-and-forth of fortunes, Tiafoe’s raised game saw him book a semifinal spot, hitting seven of his ten aces in the deciding set to close out a memorable victory.
During his on-court interview, Tiafoe made sure to lift Michelsen’s spirits and gave a huge shoutout to his opponent, candidly admitting the result could easily have gone either way.
“He’s a hell of a player, man, and I mean he easily should have won today. So, shout out Alex Michelsen,” said Tiafoe.
Michelsen, who was sobbing uncontrollably after the loss, made sure to give due credit to Tiafoe. Speaking about their post-match embrace, the 22-year-old revealed that his veteran compatriot said some “nice personal things” and that “he’s a great guy for consoling me in that moment.”
While Michelsen leaves the US Open with his head held high after his first quarterfinal appearance in a Grand Slam event, Tiafoe will now gear up for his third US Open semifinal ever, awaiting his opponent from the Carlos Alcaraz and Ben Shelton matchup.