US Open 2022: Carlos Alcaraz vs Frances Tiafoe preview, prediction
Spaniard Carlos Alcaras will play against American Francis Tiafoe in the semi-finals of the US Open. The match will take place on September 9 in New York, starting at 23:00 GMT.
See also – US Open 2022: Casper Ruud vs Karen Khachanov preview, prediction
US Open 2022
 Carlos Alcaraz | vs |  Frances Tiafoe |
Match Details
Date: September 9, 2022.
Tournament: US Open 2022.
Round: Semifinal.
Venue: New York, United States.
Category: Grand Slam.
Prize money: $60,102,000.
CARLOS ALCARAZ WINS ONE OF THE MOST INCREDIBLE MATCHES IN TENNIS HISTORY pic.twitter.com/Cfql1pCwJ4
— US Open Tennis (@usopen) September 8, 2022
Preview
After beating Sebastian Baez, Federico Coria, Jenson Brooksby and Marin Cilic, Alcaraz faced Yannick Sinner in the quarterfinals.
He started the match with a break and led 2-0. The Italian responded by winning the next three games, but the Spaniard ran away with the next four to score the first goal. The Italian was leading 3-1 in the second set, but his younger opponent managed to get back in the game and return to serve.
The Italian tennis player then saved four set points by serving to stay 6-5 in the match and won the set in a tiebreak. Alcaraz led with a break in the third set and served the set at 6-5 but failed to close it.
Sinner then had a brilliant tie-break, winning seven points in a row to take the set and further solidify his lead.
The tennis player made an early break in the fourth set and increased the score 2:0. Alcaraz managed to equalize 3-3, but lost again. The Italian then served for the match 5-4 and even held the match point, but thanks to the game, he provided a service break instead. He won the next couple of games to take over the set for a decisive outcome.
Sinner was on the break and took a 3-2 lead in the final set, but Alcaraz stepped up his game and won the next four games to win the match 6-3, 6-7 (7), 6-7 (0), 7-5, 6-3.
Francis Tiafoe started his US Open campaign with victories over Marcos Giron, Jason Kubler and Diego Schwartzman. He pulled off one of the biggest wins of his career by defeating Rafael Nadal in the fourth round, leading to a quarterfinal clash with Andrey Rublev.
The duo started the match quite well and didn’t lose a single position on their serve. The set then went to a tiebreak, which was won by Tiafoe. The second set played out in a similar fashion, with the American winning another set with a flawless tiebreak.
Both remained fairly stable in the middle of the third set. Tiafoe made the decisive break in Game 7 to take a 4-3 lead. Rublev could not recover from this setback, and soon the American won the match with a score of 7-6 (3), 7-6 (0), 6-4.
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Head to Head
Francis Tiafoe leads 2-0 in general meetings. Spending so many hours on the court and then facing a relatively fresher opponent playing in front of a home crowd is never an easy task for Alcaraz.
The Spaniard will still be the favourite, but expect it to be a tight battle where both players are evenly matched.
Odds
| Carlos Alcaraz win 1.53 | Frances Tiafoe win 2.75 |
Prediction
Alcaraz’s quarter-final match against Sinner lasted over five hours and ended around 3:00 am. While the Spaniard ran around the court without missing a second before the last point, he later felt the consequences of this. Meanwhile, Tiafoe was well rested after finishing his match earlier in the day.
In his quarterfinal match, the American threw 18 aces and finished with 46 winning and 38 unforced errors. While Alcaraz’s innings pale in comparison, he blasted 58 winners with 38 unforced errors.
Alcaraz’s versatile play could get Tiafoe into trouble, but the American is able to keep up with his powerful play.
Prediction for this match: Frances Tiafoe win.
