Ben Shelton and Francis Tiafoe receive expected U.S. Open semifinal time slot

As expected, Americans Ben Shelton and Francis Tiafoe are scheduled to play at 7 PM Eastern Daylight Time on Friday in the U.S. Open Men's Semifinals. The first semifinal between top seed Alexander Zverev and unseeded Karen Khachanov is scheduled to begin no earlier than 3 PM EDT.

The Khachanov-Zverev match is the second one on Arthur Ashe Stadium on Friday. Top-seeded Katerina Siniakova and Taylor Townsend will play Americans Ashlyn Krueger and Robin Montgomery in the Women's Doubles final at noon. A long match in the women's doubles final could impact the start for Khachanov and Zverev. Conversely, if Khachanov and Zverev play beyond three hours, Shelton and Tiafoe would start late.

The men's semifinals flipped from traditionally scheduling players with two days' rest in the first semifinal and players with one day of rest to play at night. Shelton and Tiafoe playing in prime time was the easy scheduling decision for the USTA. 

Zverev is probably relieved to be playing an afternoon match. 

All of Zverev's 2026 U.S. Open matches ended past midnight through the first four rounds. Zverev earned a straight-sets win in the quarterfinals that he completed at 10:20 PM. After five-set matches in the first two rounds, Zverev won his last three matches in straight sets.