American tennis players have made an indelible mark at this US Open. Players such as Madison Keys, Ben Shelton, Frances Tiafoe and Taylor Fritz all made it to the singles quarterfinals. 

The American contingent has been led by 19-year-old Coco Gauff, who reached the semifinals of the tournament by defeating Jelena Ostapenko from Latvia on Tuesday 6-0, 6-2. The No. 20 seed Ostapenko, the 2017 French Open champion, knocked off No. 1 seed Iga Swiatek on Sunday to face Gauff in the quarterfinals.

“(I’m) so happy,” said Gauff after her victory.  “Last year, I lost at the quarterfinal stage and I wanted to do better this year. I still have a long way to go, but I’m happy and I’m ready to go back to work for the next one. “

Guaff is the first American teenager to reach back-to-back US Open quarterfinals since Serena Williams (1999 and 2000) and is now the first American teenager to reach the semifinals since Serena.

“I mean, being in any sentence with her is great,” Guaff said. “She is the greatest of all time. I’m nothing close to that yet, but I’m just honored to be in the same sentence.”

Gauff will meet No. 10 seed Karolina Muchova tonight.

She and her doubles partner, American Jessica Pegula, went up against Hsieh Su-wei and Wang Xinyu in the quarterfinals yesterday. Pegula, who was the No. 3 seed in the singles competition, was eliminated by fellow American Madison Keys, seeded 20th, in the fourth round. Keys and No. 9 Marketa Vondrousova battled last night at Arthur Ashe Stadium for a spot in the semifinals.   

The American men have also experienced considerable success at this year’s Open, including two who contested each other in the quarterfinals on Tuesday night. Unseeded 20-year-old Ben Shelton advanced to the semifinals by upsetting No. 10 seed Frances Tiafoe 6-2, 3-6, 7-6. It was a historic pairing as it was the first time two Black men met in a US Open quarterfinal.

“I’m feeling like I left it all out here tonight,” said Shelton, a native of Atlanta who played collegiately for the University of Florida.  “An emotional battle,” he continued. “Thanks to all you guys for staying so late.  Hell of an atmosphere.  And thanks for pushing me over the line.” 

Shelton reached this year’s Australian Open as well and will take on No. 2 seed Novak Djokovic, arguably the greatest men’s player of all time, in the semifinals. Djokovic bested American Taylor Fritz, the No. 9 seed, 6-1, 6-4, 6-4 on Tuesday. 

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On an almost unbearably humid Tuesday night in front of a packed and energized crowd at Arthur Ashe Stadium in Flushing Meadows, unseeded Ben Shelton upset No. 10 seed Frances Tiafoe 6-2, 3-6, 7-6 (7), 6-2 to advance to the 2023 US Open semifinals.

With the win, the 20-year-old Shelton became the youngest man from the United States to reach a US Open semifinals since Michael Chang accomplished the feat at the age of 20 in 1992.

The match between Shelton and Tiafoe was also historic for another reason. Facing off against each other in a stadium named for Arthur Ashe, the only Black man ever to win the singles titles at Wimbledon, the US Open and the Australian Open, the meeting was the first US Open quarterfinal between Black men in the Open era.

Leading up to the match, Tiafoe reflectively expressed to the media, “Two people of color playing in the quarterfinals …It’s a pretty monumental moment.”

The No. 10 seed Tiafoe was the presumed favorite, having dropped just one set at the tournament before Tuesday night. However, Shelton, whose powerful serve and impressive forehand helped propel him from outside the Top 100 last year to the No. 47 ranked player in the world, displayed the skills to take down Tiafoe in his runup to Tuesday’s quarterfinals match.

Speaking with reporters early in the week, Tiafoe, from Hyattsville, Maryland, assessed his friend and opponent.

“It’s a big match. He’s Bugs Bunny. He’s got crazy energy, endless energy,” said Tiafoe. “He’s going to come after me, and I’m going to come after him. It’s going to be a great battle, we’re going to compete really hard.”

And they went at it. Shelton, a native of Atlanta, put his abilities on full display as the lefthander and Tiafoe battled back and forth, both with huge serves and blistering returns. Ultimately, however, a powerful return by Shelton to save a set point in a pivotal third-set tiebreaker, followed by two missed shots by Tiafoe, allowed Shelton to win the set and prevent Tiafoe from taking a two-sets-to-one lead. Shelton broke Tiafoe to begin the fourth set and marched on to victory.

In his post-match on-court interview, Shelton said, “I’m feeling like I left it all out here tonight… An emotional battle. Thanks to all you guys for staying so late. Hell of an atmosphere. And thanks for pushing me over the line.”

Shelton’s victory moved him into the top 20 in the men’s world singles ranking. He will face No. 2 seed Novak Djokovic this Friday in the US Open semifinals. Djokovic will be appearing in his record 47th Grand Slam semifinals match and has won 23 Grand Slam titles, the most all-time by a men’s player.

Earlier during Tuesday’s session, No. 6 seed Coco Gauff dominated No. 20 seed Jelena Ostapenko,  the 2017 French Open champion, 6-0, 6-2, to reach her first US Open semifinal at just age 19. Next up for Gauff is No. 10 seed Karolína Muchová tonight.  

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The Ecology Center will sponsor an e-waste collection event at 113-43 Farmers Blvd in St. Albans, Queens, on Saturday, Sept. 9, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.   

Working and nonworking electronic equipment will be accepted as tax-deductible donations, including laptops and desktops, smartphones, tablets, printers, fax machines, TVs, VCRs, and more.

For more information, contact the Ecology Center at 212-477-4022; email,  info@lesecologycenter.org or https://www.lesecologycenter.org/calendar/st-albans-113-43-farmers-blvd/

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* This article was originally published here