Frances Tiafoe makes history on court named after pioneer Arthur Ashe

Rising American Frances Tiafoe danced into the middle of Arthur Ashe Stadium court and soaked up the cheers from his rapidly expanding fan base after securing his spot in the US Open semifinals on Wednesday.

In that moment it was hard not to wonder what the man that dance floor was named after would have thought of the jubilant scene. With the win, Tiafoe became the first Black American man to reach the semifinals at Flushing Meadows since the late Hall of Famer Ashe did in 1972.

Former world No 1 Ashe, who grew up poor in the segregated US South, was at the forefront of breaking down barriers for Black tennis players and in 1968 became the first Black man to win the US Open, the first of three major titles.

Tiafoe, 24, is the son of immigrants from war-torn Sierra Leone who was introduced to the sport at a tennis centre where his father worked as a custodian. He is gunning to be the first American man to win a grand slam in nearly two decades.

“Every time I win, I just want to inspire a bunch of people to know that anything is possible,” Tiafoe said after his straight-sets win over ninth-seeded Russian Andrey Rublev.

“At the end of the day I love that because of Frances Tiafoe there are a lot of people of colour playing tennis. That's obviously a goal for me. That's why I'm out here trying pretty hard.”

With the hopes of a nation resting on his shoulders, Tiafoe rose to the occasion by reaching his first grand slam semifinal with a 7-6(3) 7-6(0) 6-4 win over Rublev.

Not since Andy Roddick in 2003 has a US man won the title at Flushing Meadows and the pressure was on for the 24-year-old to build on his stunning win over second seed Rafa Nadal in the fourth round.

He did not disappoint, launching 18 aces and 46 winners in a dominant performance, injecting new excitement among the home crowd after 23-time grand slam winner Serena Williams bowed out after what is expected to be her final appearance in the third round.

“I felt way more comfortable coming out today than when I was playing Rafa,” Tiafoe said. “Today I felt really comfortable and it showed in my performance.”

Rublev put up a fight for two sets but his game unravelled as Tiafoe stormed through the second set tiebreak, shouting out in anger and whacking his racket after an ace from the American flew past him. “That's the best tiebreak I'll ever play,” said Tiafoe.

The Russian bit down on a tennis ball and sat with his face buried in a towel after Tiafoe triumphed in a 16-shot rally to get the only break of the match in the seventh game of the third set. Wearing a bracelet that read: “Why not me?” Tiafoe sealed it with an ace to become the first Black American man to reach a US Open semifinal since Arthur Ashe 50 years ago, playing in the stadium named after the late former champion.

While American women have consistently thrived on the Grand Slam stage, most recently in 2020 when Sofia Kenin won the Australian Open, the men's field has been lacking with the golden years of Andre Agassi and Pete Sampras long past.

Only one American woman remains in the women's singles draw, Jessica Pegula, after Roland-Garros runner-up Coco Gauff lost in the quarterfinal.