American Taylor Fritz earned a hard-fought victory over fourth seed Alexander Zverev, winning 7-6(2) 3-6 6-4 7-6(3) at Arthur Ashe Stadium on Tuesday to reach the semi-finals of the U.S. Open for the first time in his career.
This win sparked hopes for an American champion at the U.S. Open, as there has not been one since Andy Roddick’s triumph 21 years ago. Fritz’s success against the former runner-up Zverev also came off the back of a previous victory over him at Wimbledon, where Fritz triumphed in a five-set match.
With the home crowd rallying behind him, the 26-year-old U.S. number one felt a special atmosphere as he progressed deeper into a Grand Slam tournament. “I’ve had a lot of looks at quarter-finals over the past couple of years and today just felt different,” Fritz expressed after the match.
The first set saw both players exchange powerful baseline shots, with Zverev battling from a 0-40 deficit to push the set into a tiebreak. Fritz seized the opportunity, closing out the tiebreak with a strong overhead smash despite Zverev’s attempts to recover.
Zverev responded in the second set with an impressive shot that landed perfectly on the lines, helping him break Fritz at a critical moment to level the match. However, Fritz bounced back in the third set, breaking Zverev to establish a commanding lead and ultimately securing it as Zverev struggled with errors.
The fourth set remained tight, but Fritz found himself in control of the tiebreak. Despite Zverev’s determination, Fritz’s performance led him to one of the most significant wins of his career.
An upset Zverev reflected on his performance, admitting, “I did nothing to deserve to win. It’s as simple as that. I played terrible,” noting his struggles with his backhand, a typically reliable shot.
Fritz now looks ahead to his semi-final match against either Bulgarian veteran Grigor Dimitrov or fellow American Frances Tiafoe. “I guess we’ll see what happens, but either way I’ll be ready to go,” he concluded, hinting at the potential for an all-American final.