The men’s quarterfinals at the US Open on Wednesday night — and into Thursday morning — were incredible.
First, Frances Tiafoe followed up a fourth-round victory over Rafael Nadal with a win over No. 9 seed Andrey Rublev. Tiafoe becomes the first American to reach the semifinals since 2006, and he’s the first Black American man to reach the men’s semifinals at the US Open since Arthur Ashe did so in 1972.
And in the nightcap, tennis fans were treated to an all-timer.
No. 3 seed Carlos Alcaraz took down No. 11 seed Jannik Sinner 6-3, 6-7 (7), 6-7 (0), 7-5, 6-3 in the latest match in US Open history.
The match finished at 2:50 a.m. ET in New York, topping three US Open matches that had ended at 2:26 a.m. ET.
It was also the second-longest US Open match ever, at five hours, 15 minutes (11 minutes shy of the record).
It’s unfortunate that somebody had to lose this match that featured elite tennis play all the way through.
Ultimately, Alcaraz came out on top, and he capped it off with an ace on match point.
Oh, and Alcaraz is just 19 years old. Amazing.
Now, Alcaraz will face Tiafoe in Friday’s semifinals, and that certainly won’t be lacking in storylines.
Tennis fans that stayed awake were blown away by the epic match:
In 5 hours and 15 minutes, 19 year old Carlos Alcaraz wins one of the greatest tennis matches of all time over Jannik Sinner to make the US Open semifinals. Special kid. Special tournament. Special sport.
— Dan Wolken (@DanWolken) September 8, 2022
About Matt Clapp
Matt is an editor/writer at The Comeback and Awful Announcing.
He can be reached by email at mclapp@thecomeback.com.