Taylor Fritz of the U.S. reacts after defeating Frances Tiafoe during the men’s singles semifinal of the U.S. Open tennis championships Friday in New York.
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NEW YORK — When Taylor Fritz, 26, of California, and Frances Tiafoe, 26, of Maryland, walked under the lights of Arthur Ashe Stadium on Saturday night for the first U.S. Open semifinal match between two Americans in 19 years, the crowd could have also been forgiven for not knowing who to support.
There was a burst of applause before the starting point, a fitting curtain-raiser for the show about to open. After the contest ends, perhaps the momentum shift makes it difficult to choose between a pair of friends who have known each other since playing in a tournament for under-14s.
In the end, the rumble went to Fritz, who surged with six games against a fading Tiafoe to come out on top 4-6, 7-5, 4-6, 6-4, 6-1 and clinch the first. Grand Slam finals.
“This is why I do what I do,” Fritz told fans, his voice cracking during a post-match interview. “That’s why I work so hard.”
Fritz’s 12th win in eight professional meetings against No. 20 Tiafoe earned him a showdown against No. 1 Jannik Dosa for the championship on Sunday.
“They are too much from the baseline to be more … and I just try to tell myself to stay in and fight,” said Fritz, who is two games from losing in the fourth flight. “I said if I didn’t give everything I wanted – just stay and see if the level can go down a little bit – then I’ll regret it for a long time.”
He will be the first American to appear in a major final since Andy Roddick lost to Roger Federer at Wimbledon in 2009 – and the first in New York since Roddick lost to Federer there in 2006. If he can get past Sinner, Fritz will become the first American who won any Slam trophy since Roddick got it 21 years ago at the US Open.
“This is a dream. I’m in the finals. So I’m going to go out there and give it everything I can,” Fritz said. “I can’t wait.”
From 4-all in the fourth set, he seized control. Tiafoe’s mind and legs betrayed him, because he was cramped, at least a little, because of what he said were nerves related to thinking that the finish line was near and he was going to play for the title.
Frances Tiafoe of the United States waves to fans after being defeated by Taylor Fritz during the men’s singles semifinal of the US Open tennis championships in New York.
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“I felt like my body was dying,” said Tiafoe, who fell to 7-14 in five sets. “I’m first.”
After a double fault gave him a break to make it 4-0 in the fifth, more than three hours into the process, Tiafoe broke his racket. Fritz repaid the favor by double faulting to end the next game, but broke right back and soon it was over. They met on the net to hug.
“Sometimes,” Tiafoe said, “not always.”
Dosa, a 23-year-old from Italy exonerated in a doping case less than three weeks ago, finished off 7-5, 7-6 (3), 6-2 victory over No. 25 Jack Draper on Saturday that featured simultaneous. treatment of the two competitors by the deep coach in the 1 1/2 hour second set.
“It was a very physical match, as we saw it,” said Sinner, who won the Australian Open in January. “I’m just trying to stay there mentally.”
He got his left wrist massaged after falling during the point he managed to win; Draper required medical attention after vomiting twice in a game with temperatures in the high 70s and humidity above 60%. During a break in the action, a vacuum was used to clean the ground behind the baseline and to complete the cleaning task, 22-year-old Draper from England tried to do himself by wiping, um, with a towel.
No drama is far from the real drama in Tiafoe vs. Fritz.
“Finally,” Tiafoe said, “it was a great night, if there were Americans fighting.”
The away box seems to reflect the contrasting personalities of the players. The stunning Tiafoe would mark important moments by shaking her fists or gritting her teeth or clutching her racket or nodding her head as she walked down the sidelines, and her entourage – including coach David Witt, who worked with Venus Williams for years, as well as Jessica Pegula, the American in Saturday’s U.S. Open women’s final against Aryna Sabalenka — stood and roared, point after point.
The group in Fritz’s lighter corner prefers to celebrate.
Fritz has never made it past the quarterfinals at one of the sport’s four most prestigious events to date, but this journey has included wins over a trio of men with a combined six-match Slam runner-up: Casper Ruud, Alexander Zverev and Matteo Berrettini.
Fritz started well there, smacking serves at up to 135 mph, before Tiafoe gathered himself and held five games in a row. In the next set, Fritz was pretty perfect, winning 24 of 25 service points and 8 for 8 at the net. Tiafoe regrouped quickly, breaking to start third, which turned out to be enough for that set, because he never allowed Fritz to be more than one break chance.
Tiafoe seemed to lose steam after losing one particular point 31-stroke – the longest of the match, which he called “definitely a powerful rally” – midway through the fourth, then gave away the last game of the set by double-faulting twice and netting a drop shot.
“It’s going to hurt a lot,” Tiafoe said.
