Frances Tiafoe grinds down Grigor Dimitrov to set up all-American semi-final at US Open

For the first time in nearly two decades, an American will play in the US Open men’s singles final. Frances Tiafoe defeated Grigor Dimitrov in Flushing Meadows on Tuesday night to reach the last four, clearing the way for an all-American semifinal featuring Taylor Fritz.

Tiafoe, catching on to a tired opponent and feeding off a raucous Arthur Ashe Stadium crowd that was right in his corner, ran out to a 6-4, 6-7 (5), 6-3, 4-1 lead before Dimitrov withdrew from the quarterfinals with an injury just before midnight. Tiafoe advances to the semifinals for the second time in three years, where he will face 12th-seeded Fritz, a longtime friend and Davis Cup teammate who pulled off a 7-6 (2), 3-6, 6-4, 7-6 (3) upset of fourth-seeded Alexander Zverev in the daytime session.

Tiafoe, a 26-year-old from Hyattsville, Maryland, already became the first American to reach three consecutive U.S. Open quarterfinals since Andy Roddick did so from 2006 to 2008. Now, either the 20th-seeded player or Fritz will become the first American to play in the U.S. National Championship final since Roddick in 2006.

“Let the best man win on Friday,” Tiafoe said. “It’s going to be epic. Popcorn, do what you gotta do. It’s going to be a fun Friday.”

Sixteen years later winning the US Open boys titleNinth-seeded Dimitrov was back in the men’s quarterfinals for the second time in New York. But the 33-year-old Bulgarian showed clear signs of fatigue after a five-set marathon against Andrey Rublev on Sunday and looked sluggish and mentally rudderless throughout the first set.

Dimitrov struggled to get his first serve in – the well-lubricated, partisan crowd repeatedly cheered his errors – served from behind in all but the opening serve and generally failed to match his opponent’s intensity and movement, amid constant cries of “Let’s go Tia-foe!” between points. The American broke in the fifth and ninth games, won 14 of 21 points on Dimitrov’s second serve and took the opener in 52 easy minutes.

Tiafoe picked up where he left off in the first in the second game, consistently pressing the Bulgarian’s service games, breaking in the fourth game and seemingly freeing himself for a commanding two-set lead. But in the seventh game, seemingly out of nowhere, Dimitrov put Tiafoe under pressure on his serve for the first time all night, earning three break point opportunities before converting the third when Tiafoe slammed a forehand into the net. A tightly wound tiebreaker soon followed, with nerves on both sides playing up before Dimitrov endured a 72-minute set that bizarrely ended with three consecutive double faults.

By then, Dimitrov had salvaged his struggling game while Tiafoe’s first serve percentage had fallen below 50%. For a moment, it looked like it was anyone’s game. But Tiafoe broke in the fifth game with a fizzing inside-out forehand from the baseline that Dimitrov couldn’t handle. Dimitrov then began to move cautiously between points, having apparently injured his leg during a lengthy rally.

At 3-5, Dimitrov served on rather than call the physio and was promptly broken, double-faulting on set point and sending crowds of spectators to the concourses. After limping off the court between sets for medical treatment, Dimitrov struggled through four games in obvious pain before waving the white flag after 3 hours and 4 minutes.

“I’ve always pushed myself and my body to the limit, but there are times when you just have to make an executive decision, and yes, I made it today,” said Dimitrov, the former world No. 3 who was forced to withdraw with a groin injury during his fourth-round match against Daniil Medvedev at Wimbledon this year. “It’s the second slam in a row that this has happened, so what can I say? I think I have enough experience to know that there’s no point in continuing with this, and I think it’s just that simple. Do I enjoy doing it? No, but that’s it.”

Tiafoe must now prepare again for Friday’s semifinal with Fritz, who has won all but one of their seven previous meetings, including six in a row since a first-round draw at Indian Wells in 2016. It will be the first Grand Slam semifinal between American men since Andre Agassi defeated Robby Ginepri at the 2005 US Open, and with an even bigger prize at stake: a chance to end the 21-year drought for American men at the sport’s four major tournaments, which dates back to Roddick’s victory at the 2003 US Open.

“It’s just a matter of time,” Tiafoe said. “You put yourself in positions, it’s just a matter of time and the game is open. It’s not like before, when you got to the quarter-finals, played Rafa and watched flights. That’s just the reality.

“Now it’s just totally different. And nobody is unbeatable, especially later in the season when guys are maybe a little bit savvy, maybe just not as fresh and vulnerable.”