Ben Shelton's shot at history comes Sunday in the US Open final

NEW YORK -- Before Ben Shelton celebrated the biggest achievement in his career Friday night, he embraced Frances Tiafoe, the man who had been across the net and one Shelton considers a "big brother." The victory had been something both men had wanted desperately. "This is both of our favorite tournament in the world, our favorite court in the world," Shelton later said. Just days after defeating Carlos Alcaraz in a late-night thriller, the 23-year-old Shelton came back after losing the opening set in an all-American US Open semifinal. Behind his massive serve and ever-improving return game, he rallied for a 4-6, 6-3, 6-3, 7-5 win over Tiafoe in front of a capacity crowd of nearly 24,000 fans on Arthur Ashe Stadium, which included Serena Williams, Jalen Brunson and Ben Stiller. And with the victory, Shelton had advanced to the first major final of his career. It has been 23 -- long, agonizing, much-discussed -- years since an American man won a major title. And while the women have carried the country's tennis hopes and dreams in the interim with a staggering 25 titles since 2003, just two other men have even reached a Slam final. But finally, it feels as if the tide is shifting with a talented group consistently having deep runs and challenging the best players on the biggest stages. To many, it now feels simply a matter of time. Shelton was less than a year old when Andy Roddick hoisted the trophy at the 2003 US Open -- and now he is the one with the chance to end the drought. He will take on top-seeded Alexander Zverev, the French Open champion, on Sunday. "I'm going for it here, and I'm going to leave it all on the court," Shelton proclaimed to the adoring crowd Friday night. OF COURSE, THE American men haven't been the only ones to struggle to secure major titles in the past two-plus decades. Few players not named Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer were able to do it, until, that is, the recent emergence of Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner. From Federer's first Wimbledon title in 2003 through Djokovic's most recent title at the US Open in 2023, the Big Three won 66 of 81 majors played. Since the start of the 2024 season, Alcaraz and Sinner have claimed all but one -- Zverev at Roland Garros this year. And the past several seasons have seen a group of American men achieve monumental results and push one another to improve. Tiafoe, 28, has now played in three US Open semifinals and reached the biggest final of his career just last month in Cincinnati. Taylor Fritz, long considered the country's best hope, has been a mainstay in the top 10 and reached the final at the US Open in 2024. Tommy Paul made a semifinal appearance at the Australian Open in 2023, has won four ATP titles and reached a career-high ranking of No. 8. Twenty-year-old Learner Tien is just outside the top 10 and has emerged as a rising star, recording a quarterfinal showing at the Australian Open this year. His longtime friend, and fellow Southern California native, Alex Michelsen, 22, had his best Slam result during this fortnight by reaching the quarterfinals. Brandon Nakashima had a red-hot summer himself, with a final appearance in Montreal and a semifinal run in Cincinnati. The list goes on. And with world No. 1 Sinner sidelined, and Alcaraz, the defending champion, returning from a nearly five-month absence due to a wrist injury, it seemed as if the 2026 tournament might just be the best chance for the drought to end. "Of all the men's majors, this is the one that's most wide open for the Americans," former player and now ESPN analyst Mary Joe Fernandez said ahead of the tournament. "A big opportunity for sure." Paul, who ultimately lost in the fourth round to Alcaraz, praised the group's work ethic at the start of the event, and he too believed the winless streak was nearing its inevitable end. "Obviously we have a little extra pressure because you guys always tell us that we haven't won a Slam in whatever, 23 years, and then we're also on home soil, where we want to do well and put expectations on ourselves," Paul told reporters after his third-round win. "It's a tough task, but ... I have talked to the guys in the locker room, [and] everyone feels pretty good. If not this year, it's gonna happen soon." UNTIL RECENTLY, SHELTON might not have been the obvious pick to end the title dearth. In fact, his father, Bryan, a former professional who won two titles on the ATP Tour, wasn't even sure whether Shelton would ever even play tennis during his childhood. He initially preferred football and baseball. "It's kind of surreal," Bryan said after the semifinal match. "I didn't think he was going to even get into this sport, and then to be in the sport and to be where he's at right now, I mean, it's just hard to believe, hard to believe, and [I'm] just super, super grateful." While many of his current peers were playing in the boys' tournaments at the Grand Slams -- both Zverev and Tiafoe reached the semifinals at the US Open -- Shelton only played a handful of much lower-level junior events. As many of those same peers turned professional as teenagers, Shelton simply wasn't ready. Far from it. He instead committed to play at Florida, where Bryan was the head coach. Despite his familial ties, he wasn't even sure he was going to play his freshman season and expected to redshirt. But being around other talented players every day at practice pushed him to elevate his own game. He cracked the lineup as the No. 5 player that season -- and helped lead the Gators to their first team NCAA championship title in 2021. "When you have that much talent in the same place training together, it's tough not to improve," Shelton said in a recent interview for the "Boardroom Talks" podcast. The following season he won the NCAA singles title, as well as virtually every other accolade. He turned professional not long after, but the decision to have spent two seasons playing college tennis proved invaluable. Dick Gould, the former Stanford men's tennis coach who led the Cardinal to 17 NCAA team titles during his 38-year tenure, said Shelton is a perfect example of the benefits of the college system. "The difference between a 16-year-old, 17-year-old kid and a 25-year-old person is gigantic in physical development," Gould told ESPN last week. "And college age is about the time that you physically have matured pretty much totally, physically. ... College tennis gives you a great chance to refine your game and gives you a chance to catch up with your growth and gain some confidence. And you're getting three, four hours of coaching every day, six days a week, and that's given to you, without all of the expenses that come with traveling the world as a pro and chasing points every week, just trying to break the top 100." With Bryan continuing as his coach, there was no learning curve when he started playing on tour. In just the second major of his career, and his first time leaving the United States, he reached the quarterfinals at the 2023 Australian Open. His top-50 debut followed. By the end of the season he had made the semifinals at the US Open -- defeating Tiafoe in the quarters -- and won his first ATP title in October at the 500-level Japan Open. He has been considered one of the country's best hopes to win a major ever since. "Shelton is the new player on tour," Rod Laver, the 11-time major champion, said in a recently resurfaced tweet from 2023. "We're going to see him winning a Slam, he's got one of the biggest serves, a big left-hander, he doesn't make many mistakes. He sees an opening and he goes for it." SHELTON WILL NOW be the first Black American man to play in the US Open final since Arthur Ashe himself in 1972. Its impact is not lost on those around the game. Williams, the 23-time major champion, posted, "My heart is so full," about the Shelton-Tiafoe matchup and how it guaranteed a Black American man to make the championship match. When asked on court after the win about what the distinction meant to him, he credited his grandmother -- Bryan's mother -- for sacrificing so much for Bryan to play, and in turn, allowing him to play the game. She passed away in March. "This one is for her," Shelton said. Speaking earlier in the day on Friday, Taylor Townsend -- who won the women's doubles title alongside Katerina Siniakova to complete the career Grand Slam -- talked about how much the collective success of Black American players meant to her. "I always speak about representation, like, you only need one," Townsend said. "You need somebody to be able to see that it's possible, that you can. I've said this where if you don't see it, then it's harder to believe it, but also, you have to be a certain type of person to want to take on that feat and say, 'Well, I'm going to carve this path for myself or for someone else or for the others who come after me.' "So for me, I'm so proud to be able to click on the TV and watch Frances and Ben, and one of them is going to be able to be in a Grand Slam final, and that's a beautiful thing." While the crowd will be firmly on his side, Sunday's match won't be easy. Shelton has played Zverev five times in his career and has lost every time. But they've yet to play this season, or ever at a major. They are both different players now. And Zverev, who said he would try to "not make the American dream come true on Sunday," knew if he were to face Shelton, it would be a challenge. "Ben is just a big, powerful guy," Zverev said Friday. "Massive serve, massive groundstrokes. Everything he does is just big." When told there was a lot of history on the line on Sunday, Shelton joked, "Is there?" in his news conference after the match. But he is more than aware. He said he recognized how "cool" the moment was but was trying to stay "grounded and focused and humble" and simply focus on the match. Shelton, who will also look to become the first former college player to win a major title since John McEnroe in 1984, is more than aware of his record against Zverev. But not doing something previously hadn't stood in his way the rest of the tournament. Shelton said that shouldn't stop him now either. "At the end of the day, this is a tournament where I'm doing things that I haven't done before, breaking barriers I haven't broken through before," Shelton said on ESPN. "It's all uncharted territory. So yes, I haven't had success against [Zverev] in the past, but that doesn't scare me. I also hadn't had success against Carlos. "And I think that this is the perfect opportunity to put it all on the line. I'm more excited than I've ever been for a tennis match, and I can't wait to get out there."