Frances Tiafoe vs. Carlos Alcaraz in the U.S. Open Men’s Semifinals: How to Watch
Watch Frances Tiafoe live against Carlos Alcaraz in the men’s semifinals at the US Open.
Those who have worried about the state of men’s tennis as the likes of Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal retire have nothing to fear.
The next generation of men’s tennis is here and fans will get a chance to see what one of the next great rivalries could look like when Frances Tiafoe, the 24-year-old American at number 26, takes on Carlos Alcaraz, the 19-year-old Spaniard finished fourth in the semifinals of the US Open.
The two will face off at Arthur Ashe Stadium on Friday at 7:00 p.m. Eastern Time in what is expected to be an exciting and intense match. The winner will play Norway’s Casper Ruud, who beat Russia’s Karen Khachanov in four sets in the men’s semifinals match.
Here’s what you need to know before the Tiafoe-Alcaraz game:
How have Frances Tiafoe and Carlos Alcaraz progressed?
In five singles matches, Tiafoe has lost just one set, which fell to Nadal in the fourth round. Tiafoe defeated Marcos Giron of the United States in the first round, then in the quarterfinals Jason Kubler of Australia, Diego Schwartzman, a 14th-seeded Argentine, Nadal and Andrey Rublev, a ninth-seeded Russian.
Alcaraz reaches the semifinals after consecutive five-set marathon matches: he defeated Jannik Sinner of Italy in a 5-hour, 15-minute quarterfinal match that ended at almost 3 a.m. on Thursday, and Marin Cilic of Croatia in the fourth round in a match , which lasted almost four hours.
Alcaraz defeated Sebastian Baez of Argentina in the first round, Federico Coria of Argentina in the second and Jenson Brooksby of the United States in the third.
Would you like to see the game at the stadium?
Get ready to pay. As of Thursday night, tickets to the upper levels of Ashe Stadium were available from resellers on Ticketmaster for around $300. Tickets in the middle tiers of the stadium range from about $1,000 to nearly $3,000.
The best seats in the house? That’s almost $7,000.
Catch the match at home?
Tune in to ESPN on Friday. (If you are in Canada, turn on TSN.)
If that’s not enough for you, consider making yourself a Honey Deuce, the official cocktail of the US Open. (You can find the recipe here.)
What can we expect?
This match will be intense. Tiafoe and Alcaraz both play fierce tennis and they are quick to pace up and down the court.
Ahead of the US Open, Tiafoe trained on his home court at the Junior Tennis Champions Center in College Park, Md. Komi Oliver Akli, a senior director for player development at the center, said Tiafoe spent much of his training sessions focusing on his fitness. Before Tiafoe defeated Nadal in the fourth round, Akli challenged him to be physical in the match.
“Make the match longer; Make each point longer,” Akli said to Tiafoe.
Tiafoe won her only duel on clay last year in Barcelona. According to Tipico Sportsbook, Alcaraz is the favorite to win Friday’s game at odds of -200 versus +150 for underdog Tiafoe.