Carlos Alcaraz defeats Frances Tiafoe at the US Open semifinals in a battle of tennis’ rising stars
No. 7 Carlos Alcaraz of Spain plays No. 14 Frances Tiafoe of the United States during their match at the U.S. Open on day six of the 2019 tournament on July 14, 2019, in New York City. less No. 7 Carlos Alcaraz of Spain plays No. 14 Frances Tiafoe of the United States during their match at the U.S. Open on day six of the… more Photo: Michael Kovac/Getty Images Photo: Michael Kovac/Getty Images Image 1 of / 9 Caption Close Carlos Alcaraz defeats Frances Tiafoe at the US Open semifinals in a battle of tennis’ rising stars 1 / 9 Back to Gallery
There was a time when even the likes of Maria Sharapova hadn’t had a slam win in the final at which she won her last seven major titles.
There was a time when the likes of Chris Evert weren’t in the US Open final at which he won his last six majors.
And there was a time when Nadal hadn’t had a final at which he lost his last four major titles.
Tennis, after all, is a cruel game whose players sometimes fall prey to debilitating injuries.
So it’s not strange that this week that the US Open’s tournament in New York was about the most brutal of them all.
For it was in an instant, after a rain delay and about 10 minutes of injury time, that No. 1 seed Roberta Vinci of Italy was set to face No. 35 seed Simona Halep of Romania, the biggest semifinal of the tournament.
It was the second time in three years that Vinci and Halep have met in the final. Halep, the oldest women’s player at 35, had won the last four Slams and two of those title the last three
