Michelsen served for the match at 5-4 in the third set and also led 3-0 in the fifth, coming agonisingly close to victory in his first Grand Slam quarter-final. He won the first 14 sets of his 2026 US Open campaign before Tiafoe turned the tables.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
After the win, Tiafoe jogged to the net to embrace Michelsen, who was competing in his first major quarter-final. The Americans shared a long embrace at the net, with an emotional Michelsen crying into his good friend's shoulder at Arthur Ashe Stadium.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
\"As soon as I hugged him, I seen he was crying already,\" Tiafoe said after the match. \"I was like, man, I know, I've been there. I've been there twice, to be fair, lost in five. Obviously I wasn't serving for the match to make the semis, but he's young, and he hasn't been there.\"<\/p>\r\n\r\n
\"We're super tight. We've always had a great relationship. We laugh and joke all the time. He's one of my good buddies on tour,\" Tiafoe said of Michelsen. \"I know how much that hurts. I know how much he wanted it today. It's something that you dream about. I just told him, 'Bro, I know you're going to be here so many more times, and I'm going to be in a rocking chair when you do.' \"<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Michelsen later shared his own account of the moment, saying, \"I wasn't saying much. I was trying to keep it together, and I didn't do a good job of that. He was saying a lot of nice personal things,\" he explained. \"He's a great guy for consoling me in that moment.\"<\/p>\r\n\r\n
\"We're super tight. We've always had a great relationship. We laugh and joke all the time. He's one of my good buddies on tour,\" Tiafoe said of Michelsen. \"I know how much that hurts. I know how much he wanted it today. It's something that you dream about. I just told him, 'Bro, I know you're going to be here so many more times, and I'm going to be in a rocking chair when you do.' \"<\/p>\r\n\r\n
The 28-year-old will next face defending champion and World No. 3 Carlos Alcaraz or countryman Ben Shelton, having played Alcaraz once at the hard-court major and Shelton twice.<\/p>\r\n\r\n