US OPEN

September 8, 2026

Frances Tiafoe

Press Conference

F. TIAFOE/A. Michelsen

5-7, 3-6, 7-5, 6-3, 7-6

THE MODERATOR: Frances, congratulations. Epic win. Questions.

Q. You've been on the wrong end of a couple of these at the Grand Slams this year. Similar types of matches. I just wondered if they at all came into your mind in this and how much it means to you to come out on the right side this time?

FRANCES TIAFOE: That's tennis, man. You're going to win some; you're going to lose some. I wasn't thinking about that. I wasn't thinking about how many tough ones I've had.

If anything, like, I'm bound to get lucky at this point, right, because I've had those, but I've also won a lot of great matches in slams and other tournaments.

No, I wasn't thinking about that. I was just thinking about trying to be in the moment and continuing to push, because yeah, it's the quarterfinals of a slam. You got to leave it out there.

At the end, I was cool with whatever result, because I was giving him what I had that day, even though it wasn't my best stuff, but I was giving him everything I had.

Q. That was a real nice moment at the net after the match. When you jogged up there, could you see he was already struggling? What was going through there?

FRANCES TIAFOE: No, I mean, we're just good friends. You know, maybe if it was, like, a foreign or European dude, I probably would have had a bigger immediate reaction. I mean, I really like Alex. I really, really do. And I just wanted to come up there and just dap him up.

I didn't think it was going to be as long as it was, but I understand the moment. He was definitely crying on my shoulders. Yeah, we just had some words for each other, and that was it.

Q. How do you explain being at one level for, I don't know, almost two-and-a-half hours, and then being at a completely different level, finding it? From the outside, you looked like two different players.

FRANCES TIAFOE: Yeah, yeah, yeah. Slow, it was flat. I mean, I'm a tough critic of myself. It wasn't good, let's put it that way. It wasn't good. Three out of five is a blessing, because you have time to get it together. I definitely waited for the last minute (smiling).

Yeah, and then I was able to turn it around. I was able to finally get momentum, see some balls on the court, get in some rallies, find myself at the net, into some good shots to get the crowd going.

It's tennis, man. You see a little opening window, you see turning points. One point can, all of a sudden you're, four hours later, in a battle just because of one point. Tennis is a unique sport like that.

Q. You've had a great year, but this is the first sort of big slam result of this year. I'm curious how you sort of approach the end game of this tournament now that you are getting to the final phases and what you are looking to do in the semifinals and all the way.

FRANCES TIAFOE: Yeah, I mean, ideally the thing is -- obviously, yeah, you're right, I've had a good year, but not a good slam year until this point.

I think I've been so routine-oriented all year, just continuously on a routine. Ideally you want to make every day feel the same. Again, winning becomes a habit, so just kind of approach it for what it is.

Obviously we have two days, which is great. Kind of get yourself ready for the last final push for this thing. I'm just going to take it day by day and enjoy this right now. I'll be ready come Friday.

Q. Frances, over the periods there have been various discussion of best-of-three sets, best-of-five sets, and it's come up again in the last couple of days. There have been a lot of five-setters at this tournament. What we saw today, do you think that's a perfect example to stick with the best-of-five-set matches?

FRANCES TIAFOE: 100%. I think for the men's we should stick with three out of five. I don't know where the conversation is going, what people are leaning to. Everyone is going to have an opinion. Everyone is different. Everyone has their opinion.

We've seen so many epics in five-setters. Do I love five-setters? Absolutely not. There's a lot of times where I'm up two sets to love, I would love to shake hands and go home. But it's tennis, man.

I grew up watching so many incredible five-setters. Novak-Rafa, Federer-Rafa, epic five-setters that go on for hours and hours. That's the history of the game. You do that, I feel like your slam doesn't mean as much personally if you get it done in a two-out-of-three format.

Q. You have a really easy match coming up next. You face either Ben or Carlos. Since we don't know the result of their match, would you possibly address first Ben and then Carlos about the specific challenges of each?

FRANCES TIAFOE: I mean, they're both incredible players. I mean, that's what you want, right? At this point, it's not meant to be easy against any guy, semifinals of a major. You're supposed to play some of the best players in the world.

Obviously Carlos has been looking great. He's a tough task for anyone. We're all pretty shocked how he's been playing. We'll see what Ben does tonight. Obviously Ben is also a different task. Lefty, going for broke, and has the all-court game.

Carlos, also all-court game, super fast, and kind of suffocates you with his movement and also his power from the ground. They both have their things they do incredibly well, but ultimately it's going to be a great match today, and may the best man win.

Q. This is the third time you've been in a semifinal of a Grand Slam. What can you learn from the previous two appearances? How different are you this 2026 run?

FRANCES TIAFOE: I'm just a different person in general. Those two runs were great, something I will cherish forever, but I'm not that person who I was when I made one in 2022 and when I made one in '24. I'm not that person. I'm excited to see what this me does come Friday.

Q. Following up on that, you've been here before. How do you feel at this juncture? Like 2026, older, wiser, stronger, the same, less confident, more confident?

FRANCES TIAFOE: Yeah, I just feel where my feet are. I'm pumped about it. I'm super excited about it, but I don't feel like it's -- of course, I mean, this is a crazy match, so of course I'm extremely pumped up, but I don't feel like it's, like, oh, my God. I just want to continue. I just want to keep going.

I have higher hopes for myself. So yeah, it's great. The tournament is still going. There's a lot more tennis to be played, a lot more sets to be played, and a lot more physical things to be done. We're going to enjoy this, but we got to keep going.

Q. You mentioned you've had a lot of great wins, especially at the slams here in particular, but where does this one rank for you as far as just the magnitude of the win?

FRANCES TIAFOE: Yeah, the moment is huge, yeah. Can't downplay it at all. The moment is huge. I've won a lot of great matches here; I've lost a lot of tough matches here as well. It feels amazing to get this done.

You know, and the way it happened, right. Two sets to love down, him I'm serving for it, I'm down breaks early in the fifth. You know, there were so many times where I was down. I could have been down a double break in the third.

I mean, it was crazy. I mean, it was definitely a Braveheart-type win. It ranks pretty high in probably all-time wins in a slam. I don't know where, but it ranks pretty high.

Q. In your on-court interview, you mentioned that the crowd was a little flat at the beginning. I know you had to give them a reason to get going. How much did the crowd help you in this comeback? In sort of a perverted way, would you rather have Carlos and not worry about this American-versus-American possible conflict with fans in whom to root for?

FRANCES TIAFOE: No. Come on, man. I mean, I want the best man to win. I like both guys. It would be great to play both guys. It's going to be rocking no matter what.

Carlos is a fan favorite where he goes. Ben has had a lot of fans as well. Me and Ben have played two great matches here. Yeah, no, I'm not really thinking about a fanfare type thing. I'm just thinking about a great battle come either of those guys.

Yeah, they were flat, but I was even more flat than the fans. I was joking about that, but they definitely woke up as I started to pick it up.

Q. A general question about the state of U.S. tennis at the moment. A couple of good numbers, male and female, in the later stages of this tournament. I wonder, what do you think U.S. tennis and USTA is doing good or can also improve? I know there's a big center in Orlando. We have college tennis, a lot of foreign players also in college tennis. What do you think about the state of U.S. tennis at the moment?

FRANCES TIAFOE: I mean, I think it's incredible. I mean, especially on the men's side.

I mean, the women's side, they've been killing it for so long. It's not something new. I mean, Serena has 95 slams (smiling). It's not anything new. You have Sloane then win one, Madi won one, Jess has been flirting with one for a while, been into the finals here. I mean, the girls, they do their thing.

But the guys, we've been doing pretty well. Someone is always going deep in majors. Fritz has been playing great for a long time, Ben and myself. We have Learner. Obviously you have Alex Michelsen, Tommy. There's a good group of us that are playing really good.

I mean, hopefully we can do the thing, and that's ultimately try to do the thing after two weeks. That's like the next big step.

I think U.S. tennis is in a great place. So whatever they're doing aboveboard is great and continue to do so.