NEW YORK — Taylor Fritz, the late blooming son of an American tennis star of the 1970s, is headed to the U.S. Open final to face down Jannik Sinner.
Relying on the big serve, expanding toolbox and thickening spine that have allowed him to compete with the best players in the world in recent years, Fritz twice fought back from a set down against Frances Tiafoe, his close friend and training partner from their teenage years.
In the first U.S. Open semifinal between two American men in 19 years, Fritz triumphed 4-6, 7-5, 4-6, 6-4, 6-1. He is the first American man to reach the U.S. Open final since 2006, when Andy Roddick lost to Roger Federer.
Fritz will be a heavy underdog Sunday against Sinner, the Italian world No. 1 who has mostly plowed through his opponents the past two weeks, despite the occasional wobble. But Fritz has envisioned himself holding the U.S. Open trophy for years, even when that idea seemed preposterous to most.
He couldn’t care less about the other side of the net. He would play Sinner, Carlos Alcaraz and Novak Djokovic all at once for a chance like this.
“It’s the reason why I do what I do, the reason why I work so hard,” Fritz said through tears on court when it was over.
Taylor Fritz blew Frances Tiafoe away in the final set. (Kirsty Wigglesworth / Associated Press)
On this court, in this stadium, in front of this throng of nearly 24,000, with his home Grand Slam on the line and the chance to break the 21-year major drought for American men, don’t think he doesn’t like his chances.
Quietly, humbly, he is that confident these days, and he’s played like it the past 12 of them. He took out Alexander Zverev and Casper Ruud, both Grand Slam finalists before him, on the way to the semifinal against Tiafoe — an overwhelming crowd favorite who thrives on the vibes of Arthur Ashe Stadium, especially at night.
Two years after he upset Rafael Nadal on the way to lighting up New York with a scintillating five-set battle against Alcaraz, Tiafoe on Ashe at the U.S. Open under the lights has become a thing – for him and for everyone who shows up.
Frances Tiafoe wowed the crowd on Arthur Ashe — for most of the match. (Associated Press)
No matter how big a slump Tiafoe has endured the past months, or how underwhelming his play has been for a year, he sees the bright lights of the city and the big stadiums, hears the noise, and watches the big screens to see which of his celebrity idols who have become friends are there with him.
He comes alive, because, “it’s different on Ashe.”
Not against Fritz.
Those were Tiafoe’s words earlier this week after he booked his spot in the semifinal against the 26-year-old from southern California, who has dominated their matchup for eight years. Fritz had beaten Tiafoe six out of seven times, and now it is seven out of eight.
For most of Friday night, it wasn’t clear why. Fritz had the bigger serve, but Tiafoe nearly matched it and seemed to have just a few more shots in his racket. That’s what the match was coming down to — a few points in each set. To begin with, Fritz played the more sloppy ones at the worst times.
And then late in the fourth set, with Tiafoe serving to draw even at 5-5 and inch closer to the finish, he had one of those lulls that have plagued him through his career, on the biggest stage at the worst possible time. Double faults, errors, bad decisions. If there was a mistake to be made Tiafoe made it, and Fritz leapt to the moment, finishing off Tiafoe with the ace that put him one step away from the place that he has always wanted to go.
(Top photo: Al Bello / Getty Images)
