Frances Tiafoe and Taylor Fritz have both won their matches to set up an all-American semifinal at the U.S. Open, ensuring that a U.S. player will be in the final for the first time in 18 years.
Tiafoe, ranked 20th, reached the final four at Flushing Meadows for the second time in three years after his opponent, Grigor Dimitrov, had to stop playing due to an injury in the fourth set.
Tiafoe was ahead 6-3, 6-7 (5), 6-3, 4-1 when Dimitrov retired, ending the match anticlimactic. “It’s not the way I want to get through,” Tiafoe said, “but happy to get through. Another semifinal here. Incredible.”
Earlier in the day, Fritz advanced with a more dramatic finish. He watched his opponent, No. 4 Alexander Zverev, make a final error, then dropped his neon-colored racket, pumped his fists, and shouted, “Come on!”
He celebrated with Zverev before stepping to the center of Arthur Ashe Stadium to shout, “Come on!” again.
Fritz, who has worked hard to climb the rankings and become the top American man in tennis, finally made it to a major semifinal by defeating Zverev 7-6 (2), 3-6, 6-4, 7-6 (3).
The 12th-seeded Taylor Fritz, a 26-year-old from California, had a record of 0-4 in Grand Slam quarterfinals before today. He is set to play against his longtime friend Frances Tiafoe, a 26-year-old from Maryland, in the semifinal on Friday.
Tiafoe had previously lost to Carlos Alcaraz, who went on to win the 2022 U.S. Open, in last year’s semifinals. Fritz leads their head-to-head record 6-1 as professionals.
“This is the biggest match of me and Taylor’s life. We’ve known each other for so long. I’ve been playing against him since (14-and-under tournaments),” Tiafoe said in an on-court interview. “So to be able to play him here … is going to be awesome. I know we’re two Americans, but I hope you’re all with me come Friday.”
The match between Fritz and Tiafoe is the first time two American men will face each other in a Grand Slam semifinal since 2005, when Andre Agassi defeated Robby Ginepri in New York.
No American man has won a Grand Slam singles title since Andy Roddick at the U.S. Open in 2003, and Roddick was the last American to reach a U.S. Open final, losing to Roger Federer in 2006.
Grigor Dimitrov, the No. 9 seed, had played a five-set match in the fourth round and seemed to be struggling late in the third set against Tiafoe.
He was seen grabbing at his left hamstring, moving slowly between points, and serving much slower than earlier in the match. After the third set, Dimitrov was checked by a trainer and then went to the locker room for treatment.
He came back to play the fourth set but couldn’t move well and eventually had to retire. Dimitrov, a 33-year-old from Bulgaria who has reached three major semifinals, did not specify what the issue was, only mentioning it was a mix of problems.
“Just a disappointing moment for me,” Dimitrov said. “I need to reassess a couple of things.”
The other men’s quarterfinals will take place Wednesday: No. 1 Jannik Sinner vs. No. 5 Daniil Medvedev, and No. 10 Alex de Minaur vs. No. 25 Jack Draper.
In the women’s draw, No. 13 Emma Navarro from the U.S. reached her first Grand Slam semifinal by winning the last six games in a 6-2, 7-5 match against No. 26 Paula Badosa. Navarro will now play against No. 2 Aryna Sabalenka.
Fritz used his strong serving, winning 20 of 21 points when his first serves were in during the fourth set, along with powerful forehands. He was also effective at the net, winning 16 of 24 points when he moved forward and managed to get 10 breakpoints.
Although Fritz only converted two of those break points, he kept putting pressure on Zverev, a German who reached the U.S. Open finals in 2020 and the French Open finals this year.
Fritz’s previous quarterfinal losses were in July at Wimbledon against Lorenzo Musetti, and earlier against 24-time Grand Slam champion Novak Djokovic and 22-time Grand Slam champion Rafael Nadal.
One of those losses was at last year’s U.S. Open against Djokovic, who went on to win the title. Djokovic was knocked out in the third round this time, and Nadal did not compete in the tournament.
Fritz’s coach, Michael Russell, mentioned that they didn’t discuss past losses before this quarterfinal.
“It’s great to be in the semis, but I still feel like ‘the job’s not done,’” Fritz said. “People used to ask me every time I lost in the quarterfinals, ‘What’s it going to take to go further?’
And my answer was always: Just keep putting myself in these situations, and I’ll get more comfortable and improve. That’s definitely what has happened now. The quarterfinals don’t feel like such a big deal to me as they have in the past.”
