No American man has claimed a Grand Slam singles title since Andy Roddick triumphed at the US Open in 2003. However, Taylor Fritz is poised to change that.
On Friday, Fritz rallied from a two-sets-to-one deficit to defeat fellow American Frances Tiafoe, winning the match 4-6, 7-5, 4-6, 6-4, 6-1, thus securing a spot in the US Open final.
Fritz, the No. 12 seed, is set to face world No. 1 Jannik Sinner in the championship match on Sunday. Sinner advanced to his first US Open final by beating British player Jack Draper with a score of 7-5, 7-6(3), 6-2.
This marks Fritz’s debut in a Grand Slam semifinal, while Tiafoe, seeded No. 20, had reached this stage for the first time at the US Open last year.
“It’s the reason why I do what I do,” an emotional Fritz stated. “It’s the reason why I work so hard. I mean, I’m in the finals of the US Open.”
Roddick, who attended the match at Arthur Ashe Stadium, was the last American man to compete in a Grand Slam singles final back in 2009 at Wimbledon and was also the last American to reach the US Open final in 2006.
The 23-year-old Sinner, who is currently on a 10-match winning streak, is looking for his second Grand Slam title after winning the Australian Open earlier this year. He is the first Italian man in history to reach the US Open singles championship match.
Fritz and Sinner are tied at 1-1 in their previous encounters.
“I’m going to come out, and I’m going to give everything I possibly have, and I know that for a fact,” Fritz said. “I’m going to give it everything I can possibly give it, so I can’t wait.”
Fritz has a 7-1 record against Tiafoe.
“This one’s going to hurt really, really bad,” Tiafoe remarked. “I think nerves got the better of me tonight.”
This semi-final marked the first all-American men’s singles match in a Grand Slam since Andre Agassi defeated Robby Ginepri at the 2005 US Open.
Fritz hails from a tennis family in California. His mother, Kathy May Fritz, was a former WTA Tour player and reached a career-high ranking of No. 10 in 1977. His father, Guy Fritz, achieved a peak ranking of 301 and is a tennis coach.
Fritz expressed confidence in facing Sinner in the final.
“I’ve always enjoyed playing him,” he noted. “To be honest, I don’t think that I’m going to be put in a more stressful situation than I was today (against Tiafoe) than playing in a final. I just feel good. I have a feeling I’m going to come out and play really well and win. When I play good tennis, I think that level is good enough to win.”
Meanwhile, Sinner’s semifinal against Draper was a physically taxing encounter that lasted over three hours despite being only three sets long.
Draper played competitively despite it being his first Grand Slam semifinal. The first set extended to almost an hour, while the second set pushed just under 90 minutes, during which Draper experienced nausea. Sinner also dealt with a potential wrist injury but managed to continue playing effectively after receiving on-court treatment.
Sinner remarked on the upcoming final, stating, “I’m just happy to be in the final here. Whoever it is against, it’s going to be a very tough challenge for me, but I’m just looking forward to it. The season I’m going through, it’s very, very positive. We just try to keep pushing, and then we’ll see what I can do Sunday.”