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One of the most anticipated matches at the 2026 U.S. Open takes place on Friday. It is the semifinal match between Francis Tiafoe and Ben Shelton.
So far, the tournament has been a triumphant time for Tiafoe. On Tuesday, Tiafoe came back from two sets down to defeat Alex Michelsen in the quarterfinals.
In all, he can thank, in part, the so-called “Hard 75” that engineered his miraculous comeback, per Matthew Futterman of The Athletic.
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After going through a tumultuous period last year, which included on-court expressions of anger, Tiafoe took a radically different approach. With the support of his trainers, he embarked on the “Hard 75”.
Over the course of 75 days, Tiafoe had to do the following five:
- Eat Clean
- Drink a Gallon of Water
- Exercise twice a day for 45 minutes
- Read 10 pages
- Progress picture
If he missed a day, he had to start all over again.
Clearly, that approach has worked tremendously in his favor. At Wimbledon, Tiafoe suffered a five-set loss to Alexander Bublik. From there, he achieved remarkable success.
He made it to the final of the Cincinnati Open, losing to Arthur Fils two sets out of three. In June, Tiafoe won on grass, defeating Taylor Fritz in the final of the Terra Worthmman Open (6-4, 6-4).
Now, he is looking to take this momentum to a place where he could go for his first-ever U.S. Open title. He has been to the semifinals three times (2022, 2024, and 2026) at Arthur Ashe Stadium. If he gets past Sheldon, those 75 days would have been totally worth it.
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