Carlos Alcaraz vs. Frances Tiafoe: this is how they reach their first Grand Slam semifinal at the US Open 2022

Carlos Alcaraz, about to break a mark in the US Open 0:40 (CNN Spanish) – The US Open 2022 reached its last days of activity and the matches prior to the final will be worthy of a Grand Slam. In the semifinal of the women’s draw, this Thursday we will have the French Caroline Garcia against the Tunisian Ons Jabeur, and the Polish Iga Swiatek against the Belarusian Aryna Sabalenka. Meanwhile, in the semifinal of the men’s draw, the Russian Karen Khachanov will play this Friday against the Norwegian Casper Ruud, and the Spanish Carlos Alcaraz against the American Frances Tiafoe. This last meeting is probably the one that attracts the most media attention, since it adds two very striking factors: a 19-year-old tennis player who is on the threshold of number 1 in the world and a player who comes from below to try to win the home tournament . Here’s a head-to-head of Alcaraz and Tiafoe ahead of their US Open semi-final. How do Frances Tiafoe and Carlos Alcaraz reach the semifinal of the US Open 2022? Frances Tiafoe American Frances Tiafoe celebrates her win over Russia’s Andrey Rublev in the US Open 2022 quarterfinals. (Photo: Sarah Stier/Getty Images) She will play Alcaraz in her first career Grand Slam semifinal . The tennis player is 24 years old. He has a record of 26 wins and 18 losses in 2022. He left behind three tennis players in the top 16 in the world: Diego Schwartzman (16), Andrey Rublev (11) and Rafael Nadal (3). The ATP Tour called her victory over Nadal in the US Open round of 16 the most important of Tiafoe’s career. He is currently number 26 in the world ranking. Her best place has been 24. Tiafoe has a title in her professional career: she won the 2018 Delray Beach Open. She has been a professional since 2015. The weight of American tennis rests on her shoulders, but Tiafoe always thanks first their parents. Her origin is humble. Her parents met in the US after leaving Sierra Leone. Her dad started working at a tennis club, where Tiafoe sometimes slept, and her mom worked night shifts as a nurse. Thanks to the work of her father, the American entered the world of tennis. Tiafoe is also characterized by her fight for equality off the pitch. In addition, he is the first black American man to reach a US Open semifinal since Arthur Ashe in 1972. Carlos Alcaraz Spain’s Carlos Alcaraz celebrates a point against Italy’s Jannik Sinner in the 2022 US Open quarterfinals. (Photo: COREY SIPKIN/AFP via Getty Images) He will play Tiafoe in his first career Grand Slam semi-final. Alcaraz is 19 years old. At this age, he became the youngest man to reach a Grand Slam semifinal since Rafael Nadal in 2005. He reached the US Open semifinal after winning an epic match against Italian Jannik Sinnner. This match already holds the record for being the later to be played in that Grand Slam and being the second longest in the same tournament. He can get to number 1 in the world at this US Open. To achieve this, he has two paths: if he reaches the final of the US Open and the match is against the Norwegian Casper Ruud, he has to lift the title to position himself as the best tennis player on the planet; The second path is easier, because if Alcaraz reaches the final and Ruud does not, the Spaniard will be the best tennis player in the ranking. His 2022 record lifts him even higher in the world of tennis: he has 49 wins, making him the tennis player with the most wins this year. This also means a meteoric rise for Alcaraz in this sport. Just on May 24, 2021, the Spaniard was in 94th place in the ranking; now he is at number 4 and on the verge of number 1. He has accumulated five titles in his professional career, which began in 2018. His coach is his compatriot Juan Carlos Ferrero, winner of Roland Garros in 2003 and former number 1 in the world (position which he arrived before Alcaraz was born). Carlos Alcaraz’s greatest idol is one of the best in history: Rafael Nadal. With information from CNN’s Ben Church.