Shelton reaches his first Grand Slam final. Zverev stands in the way.

Losing the first set was not how Ben Shelton wanted to begin. Three sets later, it was a small part of a much bigger story: he was through to his first Grand Slam final.

Shelton beat fellow American Frances Tiafoe 4-6, 6-3, 6-3, 7-5 in the US Open semifinals on Friday night in New York, Saturday morning in India. The tournament’s official report confirms the result and his place against top seed Alexander Zverev in Sunday’s final.

One more win would carry a lot of history

The 23-year-old eighth seed now has a chance to become the first American man to win a Grand Slam singles title since Andy Roddick at the 2003 US Open. Getting to the final also made Shelton the first Black American man to reach this tournament’s singles final since Arthur Ashe in 1972, according to the organisers.

That is a large amount of history to carry into one tennis match. But the task on court stays wonderfully basic: win the next point, then try to win another. The trophy does not come with a shortcut for being the crowd favourite.

Shelton had already knocked out defending champion Carlos Alcaraz earlier in the tournament. Beating Tiafoe added a different achievement. An upset can become a memorable highlight; following it with another win is what keeps a title run alive.

Tiafoe leaves with frustration and perspective

For Tiafoe, the defeat ended another deep run in New York. Reuters reported that he remained proud of his comeback season, while recognising that finishing matches was an area to improve. He said he still wanted to become a major champion and would return to work after taking some time to absorb the disappointment.

It is possible for both things to be true: a player can have made real progress and still feel that a big opportunity slipped away. The scoreboard gives one winner. It cannot neatly summarise everything the other player built to get there.

Zverev brings a difficult challenge. AS noted that the German led their previous meetings 5-0. That record gives the final important context, although past results cannot decide a match that has not been played.

For Shelton, reaching this stage has changed the question from whether he can make a major final to whether he can finish the job. A first final, a tough opponent and a home audience hoping for a long-awaited title: Sunday has plenty going for it before the first serve.