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Black American players have rewritten US Open history. Coco Gauff, Madison Keys, Frances Tiafoe and Ben Shelton reached a quarterfinal in Grand Slam tournaments at the 2023 US Open: it happens for the first time since 1968, with the introduction of the Open Era.
Coco Gauff reached the quarterfinals after defeating Caroline Wozniacki 6-3, 3-6, 6-1. Coco then beat Jelena Ostapenko, conquering the semifinal in which she will face Karolina Muchova. Madison Keys knocked out her countryman Jessica Pegula 6-1, 6-3, and will face defending Wimbledon champion Marketa Vondrousova in the quarterfinals.
Shelton defeated Tommy Paul 6-4, 6-3, 4-6, 6-4, becoming the youngest American since Andy Roddick to clinch a place in the quarterfinals. Frances Tiafoe beat Rinky Hijikata in the 4th round with a score of 6-4, 6-1, 6-4. Shelton then beat Tiafoe in the quarters, getting an amazing place in the semifinals.
Coco Gauff's words at the press conference
Gauff is the first US teenager in the semifinals at Flushing Meadows since Serena Williams in 2001. In the press conference she said: "She's the greatest player of all time and I'm not even close to it yet.
I feel really honored to be her in her own sentence of her, she is my idol. I think if you told me when I was younger that I would have the same stats as her, she would scare me. I think what I've learned about myself is that right now I shouldn't put so much pressure on these games because, when you play these tournaments, the pressure is always there.
They are very intense and you always want to win. I think I've learned to deal with it better as I've gotten to this level. I put my life into perspective. I'm just saying I have a lucky life and I should enjoy it. I'm having a lot of fun doing it. You shouldn't think about results. I'm living a lucky life."