Frances Tiafoe, Ben Shelton and Alex Michelsen won at the U.S. Open on Sunday, Sept. 6, 2026, as American men kept chasing an end to a long Grand Slam drought inside the sport’s most polished pressure cooker in New York.
Who Gets the Spotlight
Tiafoe beat Daniil Medvedev 7-6 (1), 6-4, 7-6 (6) in a fourth-round match. Michelsen defeated Tomas Martin Etcheverry 7-6 (6), 6-4, 6-4. Shelton beat Stefanos Tsitsipas 6-2, 6-3, 6-4. The results sent Tiafoe and Michelsen into the quarterfinals, while Shelton is set to face defending champion Carlos Alcaraz.
The tournament keeps handing out its bright lights and its brutal sorting mechanism. A few players move on. Everyone else gets pushed out.
Michelsen, 22, said, “We’ve been working really hard to get to this point and I’m really happy but not super surprised because of all the work I put in my whole life.” Shelton said, “I think it will be a great match. I’m excited for the battle,” and added, “Never played him here in New York, and obviously in the position that I want to be in.” Shelton also predicted “fireworks” in the matchup with the two-time champion.
The Drought They’re Trying to Break
The U.S. hasn’t had a men’s major champion since Andy Roddick won in Flushing Meadows in 2003, and there haven’t been many great opportunities in the more than two decades since. That’s the backdrop hanging over every American win here: a long wait, a lot of hype, and a system that keeps turning individual athletes into national symbols while the drought stretches on.
The Americans had five players in the final 16 of a major for the first time since 1995. The closest they came to ending the drought was two years ago at the U.S. Open, when Taylor Fritz beat Tiafoe in the first all-American Grand Slam semifinal since 2005 to become the first American man in a major final since Roddick in 2009. Jannik Sinner beat Fritz in straight sets for the title.
That’s the machine in plain view. A handful of players get elevated, then the title still ends up elsewhere.
The Americans had eight players in the round of 16 in the 1995 U.S. Open, advancing three to the semifinals. Pete Sampras beat Jim Courier in the semis and then No. 1 Andre Agassi in the final. Those numbers sit there like a reminder that the sport’s hierarchy keeps score, and only a few ever reach the top rung.
What the Players Said
Tiafoe said, “We play so much outside of the States obviously, a lot of time in Europe. This sport’s so international, so to be able to play in front of friends, family, loved ones, is amazing. They don’t get to see you much, so you want to put on a show.”
That line lands with the human side of the spectacle. The players travel, the circuit extracts, and the rare home crowd becomes part comfort, part performance space.
Taylor Townsend said after losing to women’s No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka on Sunday that “There have been a really consistent chunk of players, Jess, Coco, you know, have been at the top and inside the top five for the last I don’t know how many years,” and added, “Ben, Frances, Tommy, Taylor, it’s just such a great group of men as well.”
The quote sketches the same narrow ladder from another angle. A few names stay near the top. The rest keep climbing, hoping the structure finally opens long enough for them to break through. At the U.S. Open, the spotlight burns bright, but it still belongs to the tournament, not the people sweating under it.