Angst about the future of men's tennis once Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, and Novak Djokovic—who have dominated the sport for years—now appears needless. Carlos Alcaraz and Frances Tiafoe provided a 4 hour, 19 minute demonstration of that on Friday night, Dan Wolken writes in USA Today, in their semifinal at the US Open. Alcaraz, 19, of Spain, won the match, 6-7, 6-3, 6-1, 6-7, 6-3. That doesn't take away from Wolken's point that if the play in the past two weeks at the Open is any indication of the skill of Tiafoe, 24, "the next decade of men's tennis is going to be really, really fun to watch."
Tiafoe came up short despite what Wolken calls his "tremendous heart" and "otherworldly shots," then the American apologized to the crowd and pledged to win the tournament someday. He's won little so far, but a match like Friday's could change his direction while invigorating US tennis, especially. Then there's Alcarez, who will meet Norway’s Casper Ruud in the final Sunday; Wolken considers Alcarez "the best teenage prospect to emerge since Rafael Nadal burst onto the scene in 2005." Such a high-quality match between two brilliant players should give fans hope, he writes. Tiafoe told the crowd he'd have preferred to win, but added, "I think tennis won tonight." You can read the full piece here. (More US Open Tennis stories.)
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