US Open 2026: semifinal preview as Zverev and two Americans chase a spot in the final

The men’s draw is down to its final four, and Friday, September 11 will decide who reaches Sunday’s championship match. Top seed Alexander Zverev enters as the heavy favorite across the board, having swept through his side of the draw without facing a single seeded threat above No. 21. On the other side, Ben Shelton and Frances Tiafoe will deliver just the third fully American men’s semifinal of the century, guaranteeing a home favorite in the final for the first time since Andy Roddick’s 2003 title.

Friday, September 11 semifinals

Alexander Zverev vs Karen Khachanov – click for analysis
Arthur Ashe Stadium, 9:00 PM

Zverev arrives as the clear favorite, holding a 6-3 career head to head edge over Khachanov and looking like the most complete player left in the draw. He needed five sets in each of his first two matches but has settled into dominant form since, winning his last four matches in straight sets, including a commanding 6-2, 7-5, 6-1 victory over Botic van de Zandschulp in the quarterfinals. Khachanov reaches his third career Grand Slam semifinal but enters as the lowest-ranked US Open semifinalist since Grigor Dimitrov in 2019, having failed to win a single match during the entire hard-court swing leading into New York. If Khachanov wants to make this competitive, he will need his forehand working early and often against a Zverev serve that has been nearly untouchable in the second week.

Ben Shelton vs Frances Tiafoe – click for analysis
Arthur Ashe Stadium, 9:00 PM

This is personal as much as it is professional. Shelton and Tiafoe are close friends off the court, and their rivalry is evenly split in two previous US Open meetings, with Shelton winning their 2023 quarterfinal and Tiafoe returning the favor the following year. Shelton arrives fresh off the biggest win of his career, a five-set demolition of defending champion Carlos Alcaraz that ended at 3:33 AM, the latest finish in tournament history. Tiafoe survived an even tougher road, erasing a two-set deficit against Alex Michelsen to win in a fifth-set tiebreak. Shelton holds a 3-1 career edge over Tiafoe overall, including a win last summer in Washington D.C., but both players are showmen who feed off a crowd that will be firmly behind both of them.

Whoever wins this semifinal will face a Zverev with a 5-0 record over Shelton and a 9-1 record over Tiafoe, meaning the German will start as the overwhelming favorite regardless of which American gets through.