Extra excitement hung over the U.S. Open ahead of Friday night’s historic semifinal at Arthur Ashe Stadium.
Thousands of fans, some wearing star-spangled sweaters, shirts and hats, marched through Flushing Meadows, pledging allegiance to Frances Tiafoe or Taylor Fritz ahead of the first Open semifinal match between two Americans in nearly two decades.
And while only one could prevail – as Fritz did in five sets – the most memorable match of this year’s tournament in Queens served as a symbol of the rise of American men’s tennis.
Fritz, seeded 12, beat No. 20 Tiafoe 4-6, 7-5, 4-6, 6-4, 6-1 in a marathon three hours and 18 minutes to advance to Sunday’s men’s singles final, where he will face No. 1 seed Jannik Sinner. It will be Fritz’s first appearance in a Grand Slam final.
“It’s a lifelong dream come true, something I’ve worked for my whole life, to be in this situation,” said Fritz, who was emotional on the court after Friday’s victory. “I think just realizing it got me a little emotional.”
Fritz is the first American to reach the men’s final since Andy Roddick in 2006. With a victory Sunday, Fritz would become the first American to win the Open crown since Roddick in 2003.
Friday’s match lived up to the hype, with Fritz and Tiafoe trading points, sets and long volleys until Tiafoe faltered late in the match.
After winning the first and third sets, Tiafoe lost the last two, struggling to place his first serve in bounds.
He committed two costly double faults in a row in the 10th and final game of the fourth set, allowing Fritz to break his serve.
Fritz then broke all three of Tiafoe’s serves in the fifth set, the second of which ended with another Tiafoe double fault.
Tiafoe placed just 39 percent of his first serves in bounds in the fourth set and 44 percent in the fifth.
“I thought I was the better player tonight, for sure,” Tiafoe said. “In the fourth round, I don’t know, I just had cramps. I felt like my body stopped playing. I don’t know, it was probably nerves.”
The error-ridden finish came hours after Tiafoe won the first set despite losing the first three games. He had four aces, won 80 percent of his first serve points and hit 11 winners in the first set, all against Fritz.
The second set was even closer. Neither player won two consecutive games or broke the other’s serve until the end, when Fritz broke Tiafoe in the 12th game. Fritz won 93 percent of his first serve points, 100 percent of his second serve points, and delivered 15 winners to Tiafoe’s nine.
Tiafoe took a 2-0 lead in the third set and stayed ahead even as Fritz applied pressure. The final game of that set ended with four straight unforced errors from Fritz.
But in the end, Fritz played the more complete game, recording 42 winners to Tiafoe’s 38; 35 unforced errors to Tiafoe’s 50; and three double faults to Tiafoe’s nine.
Both were cheered for each triumph, but a large crowd including Gayle King, Justin Theroux and Rory McIlroy leaned towards the charismatic Tiafoe over the more understated Fritz.
For years, the most important American tennis tournament has been dominated by international stars. Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic won 13 titles between 2004 and 2023, but with those three no longer dominating simultaneously, the United States continues to gain ground.
The ATP currently ranks five Americans in the top 20.
“I think it’s opened the floodgates, for sure,” Tiafoe said of the American success at this Open. “I think guys are going to start believing they can go deep in the Grand Slams. … The game is wide open. Even with [Carlos] Alcaraz, Sinner and those other guys, it’s not what it used to be.
Tickets for Friday night’s all-American semifinal — the first at the Open since Andre Agassi beat Robby Ginepri in 2005 — started at $200 on StubHub.
Fans lucky enough to get a seat debated which American they would support, listing factors such as their preferred style of play, who had the best chance of beating Sinner, or even which of the semifinalists they considered the best looking.
“I support Fritz. I really like him,” said Amanda Barone, 21, of Staten Island, noting that she liked his playing. “But I like Tiafoe. I support America!”
One participant wore a 1994 U.S. World Cup team jersey. Others combined style and patriotism by wearing flag-themed sweaters.
“All these guys who have come up in recent years on the American side, I think they’ve just reinvigorated the sport,” said Beth Pinsker, 35, of the Upper West Side, who wore an American flag tank top and a red bandana.
“It was really amazing to watch [Federer, Nadal and Djokovic] “The US has dominated for so long, but it’s even more fun to see things change. And if it’s going to change, it’s going to be the US.”
Friday marked Fritz’s first appearance in the semifinals of a Grand Slam tournament. Tiafoe had already reached the semifinals of the Open in 2022.
Fritz’s run at the Open includes a quarterfinal loss to No. 4 seed Alexander Zverev of Germany, while Tiafoe beat fellow American Ben Shelton in the third round and No. 9 seed Grigor Dimitrov of Bulgaria in the quarterfinals.
The connection between Tiafoe, a Maryland native, and Fritz, a Southern California native, goes back more than a decade, when they competed in under-14 tournaments. On Friday, Fritz improved to 7-1 against Tiafoe and has won seven straight matches against him.
Fritz now has his sights set on Sinner, the Italian phenomenon who beat Britain’s Jack Draper in three sets at Ashe in Friday’s other semi-final.
“I don’t think I’ll ever find myself in a more stressful situation than I am today,” Fritz said.
“He [was] “We both want to be the one to make it to the final.”
Sinner, 23, was allowed to compete in the Open despite testing positive for traces of a banned steroid in March.
He avoided suspension after the International Tennis Integrity Agency accepted his complaint that his physiotherapist used an over-the-counter spray containing the substance on a cut on his own finger and then gave Sinner a massage without gloves.
Sinner is looking to win his second Grand Slam title after winning the Australian Open in January.
“I’ve always enjoyed playing against him,” said Fritz, who has a 1-1 record against Sinner. “I have a feeling I’m going to play very well. When I play good tennis, I think that level is good enough to win.”
Saturday’s women’s final will pit Buffalo-born Jessica Pegula against Belarusian Aryna Sabalenka.
If Fritz and Pegula both win, it will be the first time the United States has won both Open singles titles since 2002, when Serena Williams and Pete Sampras achieved the feat.
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