Frances Tiafoe delivered one of the most impressive comebacks of his career at the US Open, overcoming Sebastian Kehl in a five-set thriller to reach the semifinals. The match began with Kehl taking control early, breaking Tiafoe’s serve in the third game and maintaining a strong lead throughout the first two sets. Tiafoe struggled with his serve in the early going, managing a first serve percentage below forty percent during the first three sets.
Despite the poor start, Tiafoe managed to break Kehl’s serve in the tenth game of the fourth set, giving himself a crucial momentum shift, according to CBS Sports. Kehl’s serve, which had been dominant earlier in the match, began to falter as he approached the finish line. Tiafoe capitalized on Kehl’s struggles, winning the fourth set decisively and taking the match into a fifth and final set.
In the fifth set, Michelsen started strong but Tiafoe gradually found his rhythm and broke Michelsen in the fifth game. Tiafoe took control in the tiebreak, scoring an early mini-break to go up 4-2 before the first changeover. The victory marked Tiafoe’s third semifinal appearance at the US Open in five years, a significant milestone for him.
Tiafoe had previously lost to Carlos Alcaraz in 2022 and Taylor Fritz in 2024, making this run a breakthrough, according to a report from the BBC. The match was notable for being Michelsen’s first Grand Slam quarterfinal, and he came close to reaching his first semifinal in a grand slam, lanacion.com.ar reported. Despite the loss, Michelsen’s performance was impressive, as he had never won a five-set match in his career before.
After the match, Tiafoe and Michelsen embraced at the net, with Tiafoe offering words of encouragement. Tiafoe said he had been tired in the early stages of the match, but gradually found his rhythm. He also acknowledged Michelsen as a strong opponent who could have easily won the match earlier in the day.
Tiafoe had previously beaten Michelsen twice in their two career meetings, with wins in Dallas in 2024 and Houston in 2025. The two players have a good relationship, according to Tiafoe, who said they had spoken after the match. Tiafoe will now face either Carlos Alcaraz or Ben Shelton in the semifinals, depending on the outcome of their match.
The crowd was energized during the later stages when Tiafoe’s comeback became clear. Tiafoe had been struggling when falling two sets behind at grand slams in the past, entering the match with a record of two wins and seventeen losses in that situation. His performance at this US Open has shown marked improvement, especially in how he handled pressure in a five-set match.
The final set saw Tiafoe get better and better as he took control of the match. Tiafoe’s emotional reaction after the match, including a heartfelt embrace with his tearful opponent, highlighted the significance of this win. This victory sets up a potential semifinal clash with one of the top players in the sport, Carlos Alcaraz.
The match was a testament to Tiafoe’s resilience and ability to rise when the stakes were highest.
IMAGE: Frances Tiafoe, Nice Open ATP 2015. Photo: Dacoucou / Wikimedia, taken 2015-05-16, CC BY-SA 4.0