Carlos Alcaraz defeats Frances Tiafoe at the US Open semifinals in a battle of tennis’ rising stars.
Updated at 10:27 p.m. ET
A win for the top seed would be a major step forward for Frances Tiafoe, whose second-round match against Argentina’s Lucas Pouille had been called off. It was also the second major tournament since Tiafoe’s last Grand Slam appearance in the 2015 season on Saturday, when he upset world No. 1 Novak Djokovic en route to a third-round loss to Julien Benneteau.
“It would be very special for me, to play at the majors,” Tiafoe said during his opening statement. “And I know I’m not playing in the finals on Monday night. I’m just playing for the confidence that it will help me a lot, to play in front of my family. I feel very good.”
One of Tiafoe’s key opponents: Argentina’s Lucas Pouille, whom he beat in the third round in Cincinnati on Sunday.
The final will pit two of tennis’ rising stars against each other: Tiafoe against Pouille, and Djokovic against American qualifier Steve Johnson.
Djokovic vs. Pouille was one of the longest semifinal matches at all of 2018.
Here are three things to watch before Monday night:
Tiafoe vs. Pouille
Pouille, 24, earned his place at the Open by defeating Djokovic in the third round at Wimbledon last May. The Argentine came close to getting there twice on grass in Cincinnati last year, including a 6-1, 7-6 (3) win over his countryman.
Now he’s in his first Grand Slam quarterfinal, including a victory over a No. 1 seed.
This is Pouille’s first Grand Slam tournament with Tiafoe. The two players have combined for a victory over each other in the second and third rounds at majors.
They’ve faced off in four other majors: the 2010 Australian Open and Wimbledon, where Tiafoe stopped Pouille in the quarterfinals; the 2015 U.S. Open title match, where Pouille