US OPEN: Tiafoe and Fritz to meet in all-American semis

NEW YORK: Frances Tiafoe and Taylor Fritz set up an all-American semi-final at the US Open with victories Tuesday, guaranteeing the United States a man in the title match at the country’s Grand Slam tournament for the first time in 18 years.

The 20th-seeded Tiafoe made it to the final four at Flushing Meadows for the second time in three years when his quarter-final opponent, Grigor Dimitrov, stopped playing because of an injury in the fourth set. Tiafoe was leading 6-3, 6-7 (5), 6-3, 4-1 with midnight approaching when Dimitrov retired from the match, providing an anticlimactic ending to a contest that was not necessarily of the highest quality.

“It’s not the way I want to get through,” Tiafoe said, “but obviously happy to get through. Another semi-final here. Incredible.”

Just one glimpse of the sort of uneven play from both: Dimitrov held three set points in the tiebreaker at 6-3. On the first, he double-faulted. On the second, he double-faulted again. On the third, Tiafoe double-faulted, handing over that set.

Hours earlier, Fritz advanced in a far more satisfying way, watching one last errant forehand from his higher-ranked, more-accomplished opponent land wide. Fritz dropped his neon-colored racket, clenched both fists and screamed, “Come on!”

He gathered himself and his equipment, walked to the net for a hug with No 4 Alexander Zverev, who twice was a Grand Slam runner-up, then stepped to the centre of Arthur Ashe Stadium, spread his arms wide and yelled again, “Come on!”

After years of climbing the rankings, of becoming the top American man in tennis, of coming close to making a breakthrough at one of his sport’s four most important events, Fritz finally came through at home, beating Zverev 7-6 (2), 3-6, 6-4, 7-6 (3) to reach a major semi-final for the first time.

The 12th-seeded Fritz, a 26-year-old from California, entered the day with a 0-4 record in Slam quarter-finals.

Now on Friday, he will take on longtime friend Tiafoe, a 26-year-old from Maryland who lost to eventual champion Carlos Alcaraz in the 2022 U.S. Open semi-final.

Fritz holds a 6-1 head-to-head edge over Tiafoe as pros.