While Rublev quickly rose to the top of the game as they transitioned to the professional tour, Tiafoe’s path was far less clear. His progress has been limited at times by inconsistency, lapses in concentration on the field and so many tough, brutal losses. But finally, on the biggest court of all, Tiafoe made his move to the top of the sport in his era. “Man, that’s wild, that’s crazy,” Tiafoe said on the field. “I had the biggest victory of my life [two days] before and he went out and got another big win. Andrey is a hell of a player, but to support him is huge. This is huge growth. It’s hard to turn the page, but I did it and now I’m in the semi-finals.” He embraced this huge opportunity with a flawless display of attacking tennis, serving tremendously and constantly moving forward. Along the way, Tiafoe outplayed ninth-seeded Rublev at all crucial moments to reach the US Open semi-finals in front of a raucous home crowd, winning 7-6 (3), 7-6 (0), 6 -4 without loss of serve. He will face the winner of the last quarter-final between Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner. Tiafoe, the 22nd seed in New York, had reached the fourth round of the US Open to widely praised feat of reaching the second week three years in a row. But he didn’t know how to feel about praise. he wanted much more than just a fourth-round finish. Despite the difficult task ahead of him, 22-time Grand Slam champion Rafael Nadal pulled off the best win of his career on Monday. He then clarified that it was not over. Both players arrived at Arthur Ashe Stadium playing extremely intense tennis, serving well and calmly navigating their service games. Under pressure from the scoreboard, Tiafoe played a poor serve at 5-6 and faced a set point on his serve. Tiafoe hit a first serve and hit an in-out forehand without a moment’s hesitation, then held for a first-set tiebreak. Tiafoe turned up the pressure with ease, playing an excellent opening tiebreak. He served spectacularly, hitting his forehand throughout and skillfully executing difficult volleys into the net. In the penultimate point of the tiebreak, Tiafoe released a defensive lob from Rublev, which unexpectedly fell. He calmly returned to the baseline at 6-3 and hit an ace out. By the second set, Tiafoe had taken his serve to another level. He won 100% of his first serve points going into the tiebreak, then played the tiebreak of his life, opening with a sweet forehand drop volley and then bulldozing it with a brutal serve, knocking down aces and service winners. As he hit a backhand winner to take the set, Tiafoe jumped in his seat while asking the crowd for more. After over two hours of play, Tiafoe’s gradual pressure on Rublev finally told. At 3-3, Tiafoe forced a break point and then slid to the net, calmly executing a forehand drop volley winner. As Tiafoe celebrated standing still, nodding his head as he looked around at his adoring crowd, Rublev covered his face with a towel and cried as the chance of a lifetime slipped away. Despite a tough, nervy penultimate service game, Tiafoe clinched victory with his 18th ace. “I always find a way somehow in his court,” he said. “I always find a way. Let’s enjoy this – we’ve got two more, guys. We have two more.” Of the six men’s players remaining on Wednesday in one of the most open men’s grand slams in recent memory, five of them have been ranked in the top 10 during their careers, with all waiting for such an opportunity. Tiafoe was the odd one out, having reached a career-high ranking of 24 just a month ago. But his condition only makes him more dangerous, giving him a level of freedom that others like Rublev may not have. “I still don’t feel pressure,” Tiafoe said on Monday. “I still feel like I shouldn’t do anything. I’m here to play great tennis and enjoy it. I’m having fun out there, as you can see.” From his years playing tennis in Maryland, in College Park with his twin brother and family in Sierra Leone, Tiafoe has always had the raw materials to achieve something great. He is an incredible athlete with an efficient serve and a chaotic, aggressive all-court style that is becoming increasingly clear in his mind. But his forehand let him down at times, he wasn’t organized enough behind the scenes and he struggled to close out his many big performances on big stages. His progress was gradual and maybe not as fast as he would have liked, but it had been steady and clear for some time. A self-proclaimed goofy kid with a smile on his face always away from the pitches, he sometimes looked like he was still learning how to play with his killer instinct. Now he does.
