US Open: Frances Tiafoe consoles heartbroken Alex Michelsen after wild comeback

Frances Tiafoe pulled off the biggest comeback of the US Open. Then he helped produce one of the best moments of the US Open.

Following his thrilling, five-set comeback against Alex Michelsen , Tiafoe shared an embrace with his good friend and countryman after giving him the most painful loss of his career. Michelsen was clearly crying and left the court with a towel over his head.

Michelsen had the match in hand in the third set, holding a 7-5, 6-3, 5-3 lead at one point. He was serving for the set when he opened the game with back-to-back double-faults, giving Tiafoe all the runway he needed to get back in the match.

The 22-year-old Michelsen also was up a break in the fifth set but gave it back and eventually lost in a 10-point tiebreaker. It was the first Grand Slam quarterfinal of his career, and it ended as painfully as possible.

His embrace with Tiafoe quickly started going viral after the match, with Tiafoe sharing his perspective in an ESPN interview:

"As soon as I hugged him, I seen that he was crying already, I was like, 'Man I know. I've been there. I've been there twice, to be fair ... He's young, he hasn't been there. We're super-tight. We laugh and joke all the time, one of my good buddies on tour. I know how much that hurts. I know how much he wanted it today. It's something that you dream about. "I just told him, 'Bro, I know you're going to be here so many more times. I'm going to be in a rocking chair when you do so.'"

"As soon as I hugged him, I seen that he was crying already, I was like, 'Man I know. I've been there. I've been there twice, to be fair ... He's young, he hasn't been there. We're super-tight. We laugh and joke all the time, one of my good buddies on tour. I know how much that hurts. I know how much he wanted it today. It's something that you dream about.

"I just told him, 'Bro, I know you're going to be here so many more times. I'm going to be in a rocking chair when you do so.'"

Tiafoe is one of the most popular players on tour for a reason. In addition to being an exciting player who always seems to deliver in New York City, he is beloved among his peers. Michelsen certainly seemed to appreciate him while speaking with reporters after the match:

"I wasn't saying much, I was trying to keep it together and didn't do a good job of that. He was saying a lot of nice, personal things, 'You'll be there,' when I'm older. 'You're gonna be here. We're going to play again.' He's a great guy for consoling me in that moment."

Tiafoe will face another fellow American, No. 8 Ben Shelton, on Friday, after Shelton's late-night epic against Carlos Alcaraz .