US Open: Frances Tiafoe-Carlos Alcaraz semifinal match will be historic

This is going to be one for history at Arthur Ashe Stadium on Friday night.

When the men’s semifinal match between Frances Tiafoe and Carlos Alcaraz is over, either Tiafoe will continue his drive to become the first American to win the U.S. Open since 2003 or the 19-year-old Alcaraz will continue his bid to become the youngest man to win this Grand Slam tournament since 1990.

It should be electric out there, all right, the match between charismatic, athletic, passionate players who are living proof, and in technicolor, that yes, indeed, there is life on the tour after the Big Three. It should be electric as the future plays out right before our very eyes.

There have been 74 majors played since American Andy Roddick emerged with a straight-sets victory over Juan Carlos Ferrero in the finals at Flushing Meadows 19 years ago. There have been false starts and false idols presented to a hometown audience that has otherwise seemed perfectly fine with adopting Roger Federer as an honorary naturalized citizen.

Tiafoe, the 24-year-old, seems legit. He has not come out of nowhere, even if it might seem so. He has competed here since 2014, when he received a wild-card entry into the draw at age 16 and has been on the precipice since he forced Federer to five sets in the first round in 2017.

Subsequently, he made two trips to the second round and two to the Round of 16, not necessarily failures, but not representative of championship timber. But now this. Now this run, which has featured a victory over Rafael Nadal on Monday in the fourth round and a straight-setter over Andrey Rublev on Wednesday in the quarterfinals.

Now this run, which has transformed Tiafoe — the first U.S.-born black man to reach the Open semis since Arthur Ashe himself in 1972 — into the Great American Hope.

And it has turned this match against Spain’s Alcaraz into the most significant Grand Slam match involving an American since the 2009 final at Wimbledon, in which Federer outlasted Roddick in a 16-14 fifth set.

“I think all the American guys are pushing each other,” Tiafoe said after taking out ninth-seed Rublev. “You see [Taylor] Fritz won Indian Wells this year. Reilly [Opelka] made finals of Toronto last year. Me and Fritz had a great run at Wimbledon. [He] could have made semis there [but] a tough one with Rafa. Heartbreaker.

“You know, I just so happen to be the guy doing the run right now. I’m sure come next year in the slams, they will be doing just exactly the same. Everyone is super capable. American tennis is in a great place.

“We are all starting to really get into our primes. And we will see where that takes us.”

Tiafoe will have home-court advantage over Alcaraz, a most popular player in his own right. Tiafoe also will have at least a full half-day of rest more than his teenage opponent, who did not get off the court until 2:50 a.m. on Thursday following his classic five-set, 5-hour 15-minute quarterfinal victory over Jannik Sinner.

Alcaraz is the youngest men’s semifinalist at Flushing Meadows since Pete Sampras won the Open at 19 years and 28 days in 1990. If he wins the tournament, he will become the youngest No. 1 in ATP world rankings history (since 1973), at 19 years and 128 days.

“It’s going to be really, really tough,” Alcaraz said in the wee hours. “Frances, everybody know the level of Frances. He has beaten Rafa Nadal, Rublev in three sets. He’s playing unbelievable right now. High confidence.

“He loves the crowd. He loves this court. I’m going to have to put my best. But right now I’m thinking about this match [against Sinner]. I’m enjoying this moment.… I have a day of rest to think about the semifinal.”

Tiafoe’s story is both uniquely personal and collectively common through the American tapestry. He hails from parents who met in the United States after they emigrated from Sierra Leone in West Africa in the 1990s. The steps climbed by Tiafoe throughout his journey to the semis and have not been gilded.

“I mean, anybody can do it, honestly,” Tiafoe said. “Obviously that’s a cliché, but I think if you are really passionate about something … everybody’s got a gift … [it’s] just kind of just tapping into that, and really taking it seriously.

“If you are truly, truly passionate about something, I think anything can happen, and being just obsessed with it. Right now I’m just really obsessed with tennis, and I want to see how far I can go with this thing.”

Tennis does not need an American male at the top to thrive on a global scale. The extended era of the Big Three should be evidence enough of that. But it sure doesn’t hurt the business of tennis in this country for an American or three to be consistent contenders at the majors.

And it sure doesn’t hurt to have someone as charismatic as Tiafoe — who practices wearing a 76ers jersey and is conversant in the social media language of the day — as one of those contenders.

On Friday, Tiafoe will continue his run at history.

And so will Alcaraz.

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