Taylor Fritz held on and eventually defeated fellow American Frances Tiafoe to become the first American since Andy Roddick to reach the men’s final.
In Sunday’s final he will compete against world number 1 Jannik Sinner.
Of the current crop of American prospects, including Tiafoe, Fritz was the worst as a junior. A little lanky, a little clumsy, he needed time to get his game right, but he has grown steadily and now he has surpassed them all.
The serve and forehand are the foundation of his game, but he moves deceptively well. He is fit and focused and, while Tiafoe blew hot and cold, he stayed on course to win 4-6, 7-5, 4-6, 6-4, 6-1.
The stakes were high for the 26-year-old pair, both seeking to reach their debut Grand Slam final, where they would have the chance to become the first American man to win the title since Andy Roddick in 2003.
Taylor Fritz defeated Frances Tiafoe to reach the US Open final this weekend
And Tiafoe, the son of immigrants from Sierra Leone, was trying to become the first African-American man to reach the final here since the icon for whom this stadium is named. Arthur Ashe last reached the final here in 1972, winning it in 1968.
The image of Sinner backstage with an ice pack on his left wrist, after injuring it in his victory over Jack Draper, added an extra touch of excitement to this match. Will the Italian be at his best in the final?
Among the semifinalists, it was the biggest server—Fritz—against the best returner in Tiafoe. David Witt, former coach of women’s finalist Jessica Pegula, was added to Tiafoe’s team and the return is his area of focus. He has modified his pupil’s grip on the return so that he can hit through his forehand instead of just blocking the ball back.
That was the key to his victory here: Tiafoe forced Fritz to play long enough points that his superior athleticism and on-court skills could ultimately shine through.
Fritz took a 3-0 lead, but Tiafoe recovered and won six of the next seven games to take the set.
Until 4-5 in the second set on Tiafoe’s serve, there was no sign of a break – only three points had gone against the serve. Fritz brought the first break point of the match – and a set point at that – after the match’s rally, which ended with Tiafoe knocking over the billboard and running into the photographer’s pit.
Tiafoe escaped, but at 5-6 Fritz played a brilliant return game and made a free run, helped by a double fault from Tiafoe, which leveled the match.
After all those holds, two breaks followed in a row, with Tiafoe hitting a forehand down the line to immediately take the lead in the third set.
He held on to that for the entire third set, but towards the end of the fourth set everything changed.
Tiafoe played a stinker of a match only to be broken and never recover. Fritz galloped to a 4-0 lead and Tiafoe threw down his racket in disgust. On the turn of the third and fourth sets, Tiafoe won 11 points and six games in a row.
He recovered a little after that, but Fritz had nerves of steel and locked up the match.
He may not have the most talent on the American crew, but he probably has the best work ethic and that counts for a lot in this sport. The match of his life awaits; and he’s going to have to play the match of his life to beat Sinner.