Just before 7pm on Friday, amid the swirl of chatter, Honey Deuce cocktails and streams of US Open spectators, a small formation of uniformed cadets gathered quietly in the plaza below Arthur Ashe Stadium.
The group had traveled from West Point, the military academy about 60 miles north of Flushing Meadows. Dressed in crisp white shirts, white hats and white gloves, they stood almost unnoticed as they carefully folded an enormous American flag, then moved toward the tournament’s showpiece court.
Roughly 30 minutes later, they appeared behind the baseline, just before the stadium lights dropped and Arthur Ashe Stadium fell into remembrance. In 2001, the US Open had ended only two days before hijacked planes hit the Twin Towers and altered the course of history. On Friday, the 25th anniversary of 9/11 coincided with a blockbuster semifinal between two American stars, Frances Tiafoe and Ben Shelton, with a place in the US Open final at stake.
The result was an emotionally charged evening, staged barely 10 miles from Ground Zero. It was part memorial, part celebration, and part sporting spectacle — a night that honored New York’s most painful chapter before giving way to an all-American clash beneath one of tennis’s brightest stages.
Some gestures were understated: Arthur Ashe Stadium was lit in blue, while the date “9/11/01” appeared across LED boards between sponsor messages. Others carried a deeper emotional force, including JoJo’s rendition of the national anthem as the West Point cadets unfurled the giant Star-Spangled Banner. First responders connected to Ground Zero were also part of the ceremonies, while other acts of remembrance unfolded far from Flushing Meadows.
Earlier that same Friday, Alexandra Stevenson walked off a court in Los Angeles and found herself reflecting on the same tragedy, 25 years later. Few stories show more heartbreakingly how tennis became linked to the events across the East River.
The US Open in New York featured moving tributes to the victims of the September 11 attacks on Friday
JoJo performed the national anthem before the semifinal meeting between Frances Tiafoe and Ben Shelton
Tiafoe and Shelton met in an all-American US Open semifinal with a spot in the final on the line
Stevenson, once ranked No. 18 in the world, had spent the morning working with a teenage player preparing for a tournament. In 2001, though, she was the young player being guided by others.
After practicing before the US Open main draw, Stevenson, then just 20 years old, got into one of the official cars used to shuttle players to and from Flushing Meadows. It was Car 61.
Behind the wheel was Manuel “Manny” Del Valle Jr., a 32-year-old New York firefighter who had picked up extra driving shifts as a way to put aside more money.
‘Sometimes they say God winks,’ Stevenson says. ‘And I feel like, for some reason, Manny came into my life at that time.’
They began to talk and, before long, Del Valle was driving Stevenson to and from the US Open every day. Several evenings were spent having dinner at a table for three – Stevenson’s mother acted as ‘chaperone.’
He offered advice on how to cope with defeat and he explained why he decided to become a firefighter. ‘I’ll never forget this the rest of my life,’ Stevenson says.
‘He said: “Because I want to go in when there’s something happening, and I want to save as many people as I can.”’
Manuel ‘Manny’ Del Valle Jr, a 32-year-old New York firefighter, was killed on September 11
Del Valle grew close with tennis star Alexandra Stevenson after driving her at the US Open
Eventually, they agreed to go on a date. It was set for September 13 – dinner at the top of the World Trade Center followed by salsa dancing.
But Del Valle didn’t make it to Windows on the World. Two days before their date, he headed into the flames of the North Tower and never came out.
A quarter of a century later, Stevenson picked up the phone not long before Alexander Zverev faced Karen Khachanov in the first of Friday’s semifinals. She wanted to remember Del Valle and her school friend, Deora Bodley, who was on board United 93 when it came down in Pennsylvania.
A few days earlier, Lleyton Hewitt had beaten Pete Sampras in straight sets. Among his slated media obligations? A photoshoot at the Twin Towers on September 10. In the end, it was moved to Grand Central.
On his flight back to Australia, Hewitt noticed airline staff crying in the galley before he landed to a different world.
Alexandra Stevenson woke up early on the morning of 9/11. She was back in California following the end of the US Open. Her plans that day? Practice in the morning and then fly back to New York. But then she turned on the TV.
‘I immediately texted Manny because he told me he was going to be the first one in if anything happens,’ she recalls. ‘And of course, no answer.’ So Stevenson tried his family. She had only known Del Valle a couple of weeks but the firefighter had passed on his parents’ numbers in case of emergencies.
They relayed what they knew: that Manny was off duty but had gone back to help. ‘And now they couldn’t find him,’ Stevenson recalls. It took a couple of weeks for search crews to dig through the debris and find the 32-year-old.
A giant Star-Spangled Banner was unfurled ahead of the semifinal at Arthur Ashe Stadium
Tiafoe took the first set before Shelton leveled as the two American stars battled it out
Del Valle had reached the foot of the North Tower but their way out was blocked by the wreckage of the collapsed South Tower. ‘The bodies of the team were at the door,’ Stevenson says.
Every September 11, Stevenson toasts both Manny Del Valle and Deora Bodley; she has been for dinner with his comrades at the firehouse of Engine 5; for his funeral, she organized a wreath that carried a two-word tribute: ‘Te Recordare.’
It means ‘I will remember you’ and it was the name of a song Del Valle played on repeat during those journeys to and from Flushing Meadows.
On Friday, 25 years later, New Yorkers lived out that same creed. As the screen behind the umpire’s chair read: Never Forget.
