Fritz fires past Zverev in New York, reaches maiden major SF

Taylor Fritz carved out a groundbreaking moment on home soil Tuesday at the US Open.

The 12th-seeded American edged fourth seed Alexander Zverev in an intriguing baseline battle in New York to reach his maiden Grand Slam semi-final. Fritz and Zverev went toe-to-toe from deep for much of their three-hour, 26-minute encounter, but the American’s greater consistency under pressure helped him earn a 7-6(2), 3-6, 6-4, 7-6(3) victory.

“I feel amazing,” said Fritz, who entered the match 0-4 in last-eight clashes at Grand Slam events, in his on-court interview. “I’ve had a lot of looks at quarter-finals in the past couple of years, and today just felt different. I really feel that it was my time to take a step further and it’s only fitting I’m doing it here on this court at the [US] Open in front of this crowd.”

For the second straight major, Fritz stuck doggedly to his task against Zverev, who is the current No. 2 in the PIF ATP Live Rankings. Just as he did in his five-set win in the pair’s fourth-round clash at Wimbledon in July, the American outlasted a player renowned for his ability to dig deep for Grand Slam victories.

A landmark moment in the career of @Taylor_Fritz97 ?

With the support of the nation behind him, the American No. 1 reaches his first Grand Slam semi-final!!! @usopen | #USOpen pic.twitter.com/Of0xXVfcSK

Fritz earned 13 break points against Zverev's powerful serve, and he converted two of them en route to a victory that delighted the home fans inside Arthur Ashe Stadium. Although Zverev competed well throughout, the German’s victory bid was undermined by lapses at important moments. Forehand errors cost him both in the first-set tie-break and at 4-5 in the third set, when he crucially dropped his serve despite initially having recovered from 0/40 to deuce.

Although Zverev had been able to level the match by claiming the only break of the second set in the eighth game, Fritz largely remained the aggressor as his opponent’s relative passivity allowed him to control the extended rallies. Fritz also won 81 per cent (66/81) of points behind his first serve.

“You know how helpful having a big serve is,” Fritz said to on-court interviewer and ATP Tour rival Nick Kyrgios. “But you get to a point where, at the top of the game, your serve comes back a little more. Especially against those guys, who are typically pretty good from the ground.

“I’ve worked on adding so much to my game. I feel like my forehand and backhand have kind of always been there, but I’m trying to come to the net a little bit, trying to mix in some drop shots, just trying to add stuff to my game so I can back up my serve in better.”

Fritz will take on countryman Frances Tiafoe in the semi-finals, with the winner becoming the first American to reach a major championship match since Andy Roddick at 2009 Wimbledon. The 26-year-old, who also reached the quarter-finals at the Australian Open and Wimbledon this year, is now 16-3 at the majors in 2024.

By levelling his Lexus ATP Head2Head series with Zverev at 5-5, Fritz also boosted his chances of reaching the Nitto ATP Finals for the second time. The American has risen above Stefanos Tsitsipas into 11th in the PIF ATP Live Race To Turin after defeating Zverev, and he could rise as high as sixth by lifting the title in New York.

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