Taylor Fritz outlasted and ultimately outclassed his fellow American Frances Tiafoe to become the first American to reach the men’s final since Andy Roddick.
He will face world No1 Jannik Sinner in Sunday’s final.
Of the current crop of American talents, Tiafoe among them, as a junior Fritz was the worst. A little gangly, a little awkward, he took time to put his game together but he has progressed steadily and now he has outstripped them all.
The serve and forehand are the bedrocks of his game but he moves deceptively well. He is fit and focussed and, as Tiafoe blew hot and cold, he stayed the course to win 4-6, 7-5, 4-6, 6-4, 6-1.
There was a lot on the line here for this pair of 26-year-olds. Both men were trying to reach their debut Grand Slam final, where they would face the opportunity to become the first American man to win this title since Andy Roddick in 2003.
Taylor Fritz beat Frances Tiafoe to reach the final of the US Open this weekend
Fritz was understandably ecstatic after winning a five-set thriller on Friday night
Tiafoe saluted the crowd in New York as he left the court after making the semifinals again
And Tiafoe, son of immigrants from Sierra Leone, was trying to become the first African American man to reach the final here since the icon after whom this stadium is named. Arthur Ashe last made the final here in 1972 and he won it in 1968.
The sight of Sinner backstage with an ice pack strapped to his left wrist after he injured it in beating Jack Draper added an extra frisson of possibility to this match – will the Italian be at his best in the final?
Among the semi-finalists, this 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 he the return has been his area of focus. He has tweaked his pupil’s grip on the return to allow him to hit through his forehand, rather than just block the ball back.
That was key to his victory here: Tiafoe forced Fritz to play enough longer points so that eventually his superior athleticism and court craft could come to the fore.
Fritz took a 3-0 lead but Tiafoe settled and won six of the next seven games to take the set.
Until 4-5 in the second set on the Tiafoe serve there was not a sniff of a break – only three points had gone against serve. Fritz brought up the first break point of the match – and a set point at that – after the rally of the match, which ended with Tiafoe hurdling the advertising board and running into the photographers’ pit.
Tiafoe escaped but at 5-6 Fritz played a brilliant return game and broke to love, assisted by a Tiafoe double fault, to square the match.
After all those holds there were two breaks in a row, as Tiafoe threaded a forehand down the line to take an instant lead in the third set.
He rode that all the way through the third set but towards the end of the fourth everything changed.
Tiafoe played a stinker of a game to be broken to love and never recovered. Fritz cantered to a 4-0 lead and Tiafoe hurled his racket in disgust. Across the turn of the third and fourth sets, Tiafoe won 11 points and six games in a row.
He rallied a little from there but Fritz has a steely nerve and closed it out.
He may not have the most talent of the American crew but he likely has the best work ethic and that counts for a hell of a lot in this sport. The match of his life awaits; and he will need to play the match of his life to take down Sinner.
