Stat of the Day: Carlos Alcaraz becomes second teenager to reach US Open men’s final in Open Era

After back-to-back five-set victories in his last two rounds against Marin Cilic and Jannik Sinner—two of the five latest finishes in the tournament’s history—Carlos Alcaraz had another tough day at the office in the semifinals of the US Open. But even though he went five sets again, he survived, defeating Frances Tiafoe on Friday night, 6-7 (6), 6-3, 6-1, 6-7 (5), 6-3, to move through to the first Grand Slam final of his career.

And with the electric victory over the American, Alcaraz has become just the second teenager in the entire Open Era to reach the men’s final at the US Open.

YOUNGEST US OPEN MEN’S FINALISTS IN THE OPEN ERA:

• 19 years, 1 month: Pete Sampras (1990 champion)
• 19 years, 4 months: Carlos Alcaraz (2022, result TBD)
• 20 years, 3 months: Bjorn Borg (1976 runner-up)
• 20 years, 4 months: Novak Djokovic (2007 runner-up)
• 20 years, 5 months: Andre Agassi (1990 runner-up)

Having reached the quarterfinals in his US Open debut last year, Alcaraz is also just the fourth man in the Open Era to reach the final in their second appearance at the US Open, joining Tom Okker in 1968, Jan Kodes in 1971 and Miloslav Mecir in 1986—all of whom finished runner-up. No man has ever reached the final in their debut appearance.

The Spaniard, whose win over Tiafoe was his ATP-leading 50th win of the year, is now guaranteed to rise to either No. 1 or No. 2 on the ATP rankings after the tournament. If he defeats Casper Ruud in the final, he’ll be No. 1 and Ruud No. 2; if Ruud beats him in the final, the Norwegian will be No. 1 and the Spaniard No. 2.