The first Open Era Grand Slam semifinal between two Black men, and it went beyond that. Ben Shelton reached his first Grand Slam final by outlasting good friend and fellow American Frances Tiafoe 4-6, 6-3, 6-3, 7-5 in a three-hour, 17-minute battle. Both men had logged almost identical court time across the tournament, close to 16 hours each, heading into the match, and still the energy was top-notch from the get-go. 

Shelton picked up from where he left off against Alcaraz. He won that match with an ace to complete the five-set thriller and quickly brought the same weapon into the semifinal, firing an ace early in the opening set. However, Tiafoe managed to win the opening set in 45 minutes, targeting Shelton’s backhand and making net approaches again and again. But Shelton made sure that was the last set Tiafoe won in New York this year, winning the next three. 

A lot of things unfolded during that three-hour, 17-minute semifinal. Here’s the breakdown of five such moments that defined the historic night at Arthur Ashe. 

1. A “record” serve that wasn’t quite what it seemed

Trailing 2-1 in the third set, the eighth seed unleashed a serve that flashed up at 158 mph, seemingly eclipsing every mark in tennis history. The claim was as amazing as it sounded. Sam Groth of Australia h

olds the all-time fastest serve with a recorded speed of 163.7 mph at a Challenger tournament in 2012 (not officially recognized by the ATP because it was a tournament outside of tour level). The ATP-recognized tour-level record belongs to John Isner, who hit 157.2 mph during the 2016 Davis Cup. Shelton’s serve would have topped even that. 

However, commentators later walked the number back, verifying the misreading and confirming that the serve was actually 144 mph. But it was a night of his raw power, as Shelton posted 75 percent first serve and finished with 20 aces.

2. The shot clock complaint

With Tiafoe serving at 2-1 in the third set, Shelton pulled the umpire aside with a pointed complaint, telling her the serve clock had run past zero on three consecutive points and questioned why no warning had been issued. According to ATP regulations, the shot clock gives 25 seconds between points, and a first infringement is met with a warning, while a repeat infringement while serving results in loss of first serve. 

Shelton’s frustration revived a complaint players have made for years: that the clock is not always enforced consistently. It briefly derailed his rhythm at 2-1 in the third, as the 11th seed saved two break points to hold, but Shelton eventually refocused and closed out the set 6-3. 

However, that complaint eventually paid off in the fourth set, when Tiafoe got his first time violation warning from the umpire on 2-2 at deuce. 

3. A replayed point that left Shelton fuming

The fourth set produced the match’s tensest confrontation. With Shelton on the verge of being broken in the opening game, Tiafoe raised his hand and called for time, but the request went unheard as Shelton served. The 28-year-old only got a weak block on the return, and it flew high, prompting him to call it out instantly. The chair umpire sided with Tiafoe, ruling the point had to be replayed since he had signaled before the point began. Shelton was livid. 

“Why did you not say something then?” he snapped. “You gotta say something immediately.” The replayed point went Shelton’s way when Tiafoe netted his return, and Shelton went on to hold anyway. 

As he headed to the changeover, Shelton snarled toward his box and tossed a ball from his pocket.

4. An emotional aftermath

Frances Tiafoe could not hide his devastation once the match ended, walking off with a towel covering his face as he made his way down the hallway in tears. Meanwhile, Shelton spoke warmly of Tiafoe as a mentor figure. 

“He’s like a big brother to me, to be honest,” he said in the post-match interview. “This is both our favorite tournament in the world, our favorite court in the world.”

He then turned reflective, connecting the win to a family loss earlier in the year. 

“My dad, my mom have sacrificed a lot for me to be in this position today,” he said. “My dad lost his mom earlier this year, and she’s the reason that he was able to play tennis. Without her, there’s no Ben Shelton standing here today. So this one is for her.” 

He also paid tribute to the significance of the date itself, acknowledging the anniversary of September 11 before the crowd.

5. Records galore

Ben Shelton is the first black American male to reach the U.S. Open final in 54 years, since Arthur Ashe himself in 1972, and the first black American male to reach any Grand Slam singles final in 30 years, since MaliVai Washington at Wimbledon in 1996. 

He is also the fourth left-handed player of the century to advance to a major final, after Goran Ivanisevic, Mariano Puerta and Rafael Nadal. Adding to that, he even became the youngest player – 23 years and 325 days – outside Europe to reach a Grand Slam final since Juan Martin del Potro in 2009 and the youngest American since Andy Roddick at Wimbledon 2005, per OptaAce.

Shelton had to weather through a tough draw to reach the finals. He only had one straight-sets win in the tournament, which came against former world No. 3 Stefanos Tsitsipas in the round of 16. That ranks him fourth in most games conceded with 105 games on the path to the final this century, trailing only Marat Safin, David Nalbandian, and Milos Raonic.

For Tiafoe, the loss caps what is still the best season of his career, as he joined Alexander Zverev and Jannik Sinner as one of the players to achieve 40 or more match wins in the season, with the Asian swing still to come, and climbed to a career-high ranking of world No. 8. He is still firmly in contention for his first ATP Finals appearance, as he is ranked sixth in the race. 

Meanwhile, Shelton will face a daunting final, taking on the number one seed, Alexander Zverev. Both players have faced each other five times in their careers, with all the matches going the German’s way. In total, they have played 11 sets in those five matches, and the American has managed to win only one set. This will be their first Grand Slam meeting, and that too at the US Open.