NEW YORK – Frances Tiafoe and Taylor Fritz advanced to an all-American semifinal at the U.S. Open with their victories on Tuesday, guaranteeing the host country a men’s finalist at its Grand Slam tournament for the first time since 2006.
Tiafoe, seeded 20th, made it to the semifinals at Flushing Meadows for the second time in three years when his quarterfinal opponent Grigor Dimitrov retired in the fourth set due to an injury. Tiafoe was leading 6-3, 7-6 (5), 6-3, 4-1 when Dimitrov retired.
Hours earlier, Fritz had watched as a final misguided forehand shot from number 4 Alexander Zverev went wide, dropped his neon-colored racket, clenched both fists and screamed: “Come on!”
Fritz gathered himself and his equipment, walked to the net to hug his higher-ranked and more successful opponent, then stepped into the center of Arthur Ashe Stadium, spread his arms and shouted again, “Come on!”
After years of climbing the rankings, becoming the top American tennis player and on the verge of breaking into one of the sport’s four major events, Fritz finally prevailed at home, defeating Zverev 7-6 (2), 3-6, 6-4, 7-6 (3) to reach the semifinals of a major championship for the first time.
Twelfth-seeded Fritz, a 26-year-old Californian, began the day with a 0-4 record in Grand Slam quarterfinals.
Dimitrov, seeded No. 9, had played a five-set victory in the fourth round and appeared to falter against Tiafoe late in the third set, clutching his left thigh and walking cautiously between points. After that set, Dimitrov was visited by a trainer and then went to the locker room for treatment.
He returned to the court at the start of the fourth set, but was unable to move properly and eventually gave up.
The semifinal between Fritz and Tiafoe — “This could be crazy,” Fritz said — is the first between two American men at a major tournament since 2005, when Andre Agassi beat Robby Ginepri in New York. No American has won a Grand Slam singles trophy since Andy Roddick triumphed at the 2003 U.S. Open; Roddick was the last man from the United States in the U.S. Open final, losing to Roger Federer in 2006.
The other men’s quarterfinals will be played on Wednesday: No. 1 Jannik Sinner against No. 5 Daniil Medvedev and No. 10 Alex De Minaur against No. 25 Jack Draper.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
