Frances Tiafoe Advances to US Open semifinals, First Black Man to Accomplish the Feat Since Arthur Ashe

Photo Credit: Simon Bruty/USTA

Frances Tiafoe defeated ninth-seeded Andrey Rublev, in straight sets 7–6 (3), 7–6 (0), 6–4 on Wednesday to advance to his first career Grand Slam semifinal.

He is the first American man to reach the semifinals in New York since Andy Roddick lost the title match to Roger Federer 16 years ago. Tiafoe, 24, also became the first Black man to advance to a U.S. Open semifinal since 1972.

That was the year tennis icon Arthur Ashe, namesake of the stadium Tiafoe played in during his win over Rublev, accomplished the feat.

His road to history has not been an easy one.

The 22nd seed, Tiafoe previously posted just seven wins against Top 10 opponents during his career coming into the tournament, however, he paved his way to the semifinals with an early-round victory over 14th-seeded Diego Schwartzman and took a stunning four-set upset on Monday against No. 2 Rafael Nadal.

Frances Tiafoe is in a dancing mood! #USOpen pic.twitter.com/ehrVjE4Iqb

— US Open Tennis (@usopen) September 7, 2022

"Man, this is wild, this is crazy," said Tiafoe following the match. "I probably had the biggest win of my life 48 hours ago, now coming out and getting another big win. Andrey is a hell of a player. Backing it up, it’s huge growth. It’s tough to turn a page but I did and now I’m in the semis."

Tiafoe whose career record before the match was 127-137, will face the winner of Wednesday night’s quarterfinals matchup between No. 3 Carlos Alcaraz and No. 11 Jannik Sinner in the men’s singles semifinals on Friday.

If he manages to advance past the semifinal into the championship match, he could become the first American man to win any Grand Slam singles championship since Roddick's U. S. Open victory in 2003, a feat Tiafoe seems confident he can replicate.

“Let’s enjoy this one. We’ve got two more, guys. We’ve got two more [matches to go],” he told the crowd at Arthur Ashe Stadium to a round of raucous applause.

Jay-Z Produced Super Bowl LVI Halftime Show Wins Three Emmy Awards

Courtesy Roc Nation 

Thanks to the Pepsi Super Bowl LVI Halftime Show, rap superstar Eminem is just one award from completing one of entertainment's most prestigious accomplishments.

The 12-minute show — which brought together fellow hip-hop icons Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, 50 Cent, Kendrick Lamar and Mary J. Blige — to perform alongside the 31-time Billboard chart topper — on Feb. 13 at Inglewood, California's SoFi Stadium has won three Emmy Awards.

At the Creative Arts Emmys, held Saturday at the Microsoft Theater at L.A. Live in Los Angeles, it took home the trophies for Best Variety Special (live), Outstanding Music Direction and Outstanding Production Design For A Variety Special.

"From the beginning, to get a lineup like that of artists, we knew it was going to be historic," said the ad's executive producer Jesse Collins following the win.

He added that the ad — produced by Jesse Collins Entertainment, DPS and Roc Nation — would not have happened without the boss of the latter stepping up to take on the challenge.

"It was something really only [Roc Nation founder] Jay-Z could pull together," Collins said.

While it was an outstanding accomplishment for all the artists involved it may have meant slightly more to Eminem, who thanks to multiple Grammy wins and an Oscar for Best Music (Original Song) for 2003's "Lose Yourself," just needs a Tony Award to earn EGOT status, a rare feat achieved by winning all four of the major American entertainment awards — a feat only 17 people have managed.

Megan Thee Stallion Joints MCU to Twerk With She-Hulk

Courtesy Marvel Studios

Megan Thee Stallion is officially a part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

The Houston-based rapper who rose to international fame with her 2019 breakout hit "Hot Girl Summer" appears in this week's episode of Marvel’s "She-Hulk: Attorney At Law" series on Disney+.

We won't spoil the plot of the blink-if-you-miss-it appearance, but a post-credits scene featuring the rapper twerking with the big green law machine to her song “Body," is burning up the internet.

Watch the scene below:

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This is not the first foray into acting for the rapper, who released her latest album "Traumazine" last month. She appeared as her alter ego Tina Snow earlier this year in Starz’s "P-Valley." She is also scheduled to star in the upcoming R-rated A24 musical comedy "F—ing Identical Twins."

The movie is reported to be a new spin on "The Parent Trap," and will also star Nathan Lane, Megan Mullally and Bowen Yang.