Fritz rallies past Tiafoe to reach first Grand Slam final at US Open

Taylor Fritz is one win away from ending the United States’ 21-year-wait for a male Grand Slam singles champion.

The 12th seed rallied past longtime friend and fellow American Frances Tiafoe 4-6, 7-5, 4-6, 6-4, 6-1 on Friday evening to reach his first major final at the US Open. Andy Roddick triumphed at Flushing Meadows in 2003. Now Fritz will have a chance to earn his own Grand Slam glory on Sunday when he takes on top seed Jannik Sinner for the trophy.

“It’s the reason I do what I do, the reason why I work so hard. I’m in the finals of the US Open,” Fritz said as he teared up. “It’s a dream come true and I’m going to give it everything I possibly have. I know that for a fact.”

Through to the biggest final of his career ?@Taylor_Fritz97 knocks out Tiafoe 4-6 7-5 4-6 6-4 6-1.@usopen | #USOpen pic.twitter.com/CyQGm1CbWq

The 26-year-old arrived in New York with one win across ATP Masters 1000 events in Montreal and Cincinnati. But that has not proven a problem for Fritz, who is the first American male to make a major singles final since Roddick at Wimbledon in 2009.

The golden opportunity at his home Slam seemed to be slipping away. After winning the second set under the New York lights, Tiafoe, who does as well as anyone on Tour to use the crowd to his advantage, harnessed the atmosphere inside Arthur Ashe Stadium to take control of the match.

The three-time ATP Tour titlist was preventing Fritz from dominating the action with his power and was two games from making his own history. With tennis legends in the stands including Roddick, Stan Smith and Tracy Austin, as well as celebrities ranging from Travis Scott and Fat Joe to basketball players Tyrese Maxey and John Wall, Tiafoe also enjoyed most of the crowd’s support.

But after nine games without a break point in the fourth set, Tiafoe badly mishit a forehand to suddenly give Fritz a set point, and then missed a forehand drop shot — one of several poor drop shots in the match — to send the clash into a deciding set.

Fritz seized the momentum and never looked back. The 12th seed hit a big backhand return, which Tiafoe was unable to handle, in his first return game of the fifth set to break. Although he let slip a double-break advantage with a double fault later on, that proved a momentary blip. 

If the fifth-placed player in the PIF ATP Live Race To Turin is one thing, he is a relentless competitor. He does not have the flare of Tiafoe nor does he show the same level of emotion. But Fritz always battles back.

After losing his first four major quarter-finals, including two earlier this year, Fritz broke his duck against two-time Nitto ATP Finals champion and 2020 US Open finalist Alexander Zverev three days ago. Despite the deficit against Tiafoe, who was opportunistic to convert four of his five break points, Fritz never showed signs of panic, even if he was overwhelmed on the inside.

“I felt I wasn’t doing anything wrong, I was just getting overwhelmed," Fritz said. "I was freaking out a little bit and [coach Michael Russell] told me to keep doing what I was doing, accept it was okay and keep making him do it. That helped to calm me down and let me know I was doing the right thing.”

The eight-time ATP Tour titlist continued to play hard and won 25 of the 34 points in the deciding set, claiming eight of the final nine games to triumph in three hours and 18 minutes. 

“He was overwhelming from the baseline so much, taking the ball so early, changing lines so well,” Fritz said of Tiafoe's aggressive approach. “I just told myself to try to stay in it, fight to hold my serve and apply scoreboard pressure as much as possible."

Fritz will take a 1-1 Lexus ATP Head2Head record into his showdown with Sinner, who won his first Grand Slam title earlier this year at the Australian Open. He earned the opportunity with a courageous comeback in the biggest moment of his career.

Fritz said: “I told myself if I didn’t give it absolutely everything I had and stick with it and see if his level might drop a little bit, I would regret it for a long time.”

Tiafoe began his season with a 19-18 record. But since arriving in Cincinnati, he has reached his first ATP Masters 1000 final and second US Open semi-final to improve to 29-20.

Did You Know?
This was the first all-American men’s singles semi-final at a major since Andre Agassi beat Robby Ginepri at the US Open in 2003.

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