CNN
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No American has won a Grand Slam singles title since Andy Roddick at the 2003 US Open – but this weekend there is a chance that dry spell will end.

An American is guaranteed a place in the final of the US Open – the first Grand Slam singles final since 2009 – after US star Frances Tiafoe advanced to the semifinals. His opponent, Bulgarian world number ninth Grigor Dimitrov, retired through injury in the fourth set of the quarterfinals when Tiafoe was leading 6-3, 6-7 (7-5), 6-3, 4-1.

He will face fellow American Taylor Fritz in the semifinals on Friday. Fritz, the top-ranked American at No. 12, secured his place in his first major semifinal on Tuesday with a 7-6 (7-2), 3-6, 6-4, 7-6 (7-3) win over No. 4 German Alexander Zverev.

Tiafoe, who is ranked 20th in the world and achieved his best result at a major, had a dream run to the semifinals of the US Open two years ago.

At the 2022 US Open, Tiafoe gave fans hope that he could end the US Grand Slam singles title drought by shocking Rafael Nadal in the round of 16 and defeating Andrey Rublev in the quarterfinals. His run ended in the semifinals, where he lost to eventual champion Carlos Alcaraz.

“This is obviously not the way I want to advance, but I’m obviously happy to have advanced,” said Tiafoe after Dimitrov’s retirement on the court at Arthur Ashe Stadium. “Another semi-final here. Unbelievable.”

Fritz and Tiafoe, both 26, will play in the first all-American men’s singles semifinal at a Grand Slam since Andre Agassi defeated Robby Ginepri at the 2005 U.S. Open. Agassi lost in the final to Roger Federer.

“Friday is going to be a hell of a day,” Tiafoe said.

Roddick is the last American to reach a major singles final, losing the 2009 Wimbledon final to Federer, who was in attendance at Arthur Ashe Stadium on Tuesday night.

Roddick is the last American to reach a US Open final; in 2006 he finished second, also behind Federer.

Before Tuesday, Fritz had a record of 0:4 in important quarterfinals.

“You know, it’s cool that I’m in the semifinals,” Fritz told reporters. “But I feel the work is not done yet and I’m going to continue to take it one game at a time like I’ve been doing it all tournament and focus on the next game that’s in front of me.”

“I would say I think I performed differently today because I’ve just been in that situation enough times. I think a question I’ve been asked pretty much every time I’ve lost in the quarterfinals is what do I need to advance and the answer I’ve always given has been to just keep putting myself in those situations and I’ll get more comfortable in them and get better.”

Meanwhile, Dimitrov, the oldest man left in singles at 33, was trying to reach his first major semifinal since the 2019 US Open.

At the end of the third set, he appeared to sustain an injury, called for the coach and seemingly signaled to his team that he was finished.

The Bulgarian left the court for treatment and returned for the fourth set. Although visibly battered, Dimitrov tried to close out the match before retiring after five games.

It is the second Grand Slam tournament in a row in which he had to give up. In the round of 16 at Wimbledon, he was eliminated in the first set against Daniil Medvedev due to a groin injury.

“I think it’s a combination of everything,” Dimitrov, who needed three hours and 39 minutes to knock Rublev off in five sets in the previous round, told reporters about the reasons for his elimination against Tiafoe.

“My rehab process is obviously a little slower than before. I mean, I felt a few things before the game.

“But given all these circumstances, I wasn’t really sure if I would be able to do as well as I wanted to. And I’m saying this: I would accept this quarter-final anytime.

“I don’t want to disparage the game that Frances played either. I mean, he also pushed me a lot to do better, so he definitely deserves recognition.”