Carlos Alcaraz was able to punch his ticket into the US Open final thanks to an incredibly placed shot. The song is called "1:00." There was a high-level, high-energy spectacle of a back-and-forth semifinal at the US Open and no point over when it seemed to be. There was one sequence that was so stuffed. The men were clapping and carousing through a replay on the video screens when they said how? Too many of the mistakes came from the racket of the winner. The 19-year-old gave himself a chance to become the top-ranked player in the world by ending the run of the 20-year-old American. Being able to fight for big things is amazing. He told them that they had to give everything on the court. Frances gave her all on the court. When Alcaraz held a match point in the fourth set, he appeared to have taken control of the match. But Tiafoe, who is ranked 26th, saved it and immediately yelled, "I'm putting my heart on the line!" Alcaraz played a third five-set in a row, including a 5-hour, 15-minute win in the quarterfinals, but still showed no signs of fatigue. The most recent finish in tournament history. Four of the last five games he took were better when he needed to be. The winner of the title match on Sunday will become a major champion for the first time and lead the rankings the following week. "Carlos was too good tonight," the man said. I did everything I could. The 4 longest matches in Open history have all been played by Alcaraz -- 5 hours, 15 minutes over Jannik Sinner in the quarters and 4:19 over Tiafoe in the semifinals.
3: Times in Open era (since 1968) that a player has won back-to-back-to-back five-setters to reach a major final (Stefan Edberg in 1992, Andre Agassi in 2005, Alcaraz in 2022 -- all at US Open)
8: Tiebreakers won by Tiafoe -- against zero losses -- at this year's Open, the most by a man since 1970, when the tournament introduced tiebreakers
13 hours, 28 minutes: Time spent on the court by Alcaraz over his last 3 matches at the Open
19 years, 130 days: Alcaraz's age Monday, when he could become first teenager to debut as world No. 1 if he beats Casper Ruud in final
50: Wins this season for Alcaraz, most on the men's tour
75: With Tiafoe eliminated, consecutive majors without an American men's champion (Andy Roddick, 2003 US Open)
For a little more than a set, and a little more than an hour, at the start, then again for the last part of the fourth and the beginning of the fifth, Alcaraz and Tiafoe were both making their major semifinals debut.
There was a sellout crowd of more than 23,000 that included a former first lady. He was the first American man in 16 years to make the semifinals at the tournament.
During an unusual chance for a match's loser to address the crowd in an on-court interview, he said that he let the crowd down. It hurts. This one hurts a lot.
He is the youngest US Open men's finalist from any country since 1990 and he is seen as a future star of the sport.
Spectators serenaded him with a soccer-style song when he went up 2-0 in the fourth. The man is named Carlos!
After the game, Alcaraz spoke first in English, then in Spanish, telling his supporters that they helped him fight for "every point, every ball, for my team, for me, for all of you."
There were a lot of memorable exchanges between the two people. When Alcaraz saved a break point in the third game, one arrived. A smiling Tiafoe jokingly climbed over the net to Alcaraz's side as if to shake hands at the end of the game.
No one would have complained about the product if this semifinal had ended right then and there. It would take a total of 4 hours to complete.
They wore matching shirts, red in front, white in back, and burgundy on the side, and were all equal for a long time.
After saving four set points, Alcaraz offered up a fifth by sending a backhand wide, and then converted that into a single point by double-faulting. As the crowd roared, Alcaraz hung his head, walked to his sideline seat and hit his bag with his racket.
He regrouped and broke to go up in the second set and then faced a break point in the next game. He snapped a cross-court forehand winner, which began a run in which Alcaraz grabbed 11 consecutive points and 19 of 22 to own that set and a 2-0 lead in the third.
As on that forehand, Alcaraz often ripped the ball with abandon, aiming for the lines and finding them. He won three first set points with shots that caught the outer edge of the white paint.
Juan Carlos Ferrero, the 2003 French Open champion who briefly was No. 1 himself, was a light-hearted exchange after the first. Alcaraz is not a hang back baseliner. He showed off his skills on the court by winning points via acrobatic volleys, feathered drop shots and perfectly parabolic lobs.
There was a lull in the second and third sets, as well as late in the fifth, but other than that, Tiafoe was exceptional.
"I will win this thing one day," he said.
The AP contributed.
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