American star Taylor Fritz advanced to the 2024 US Open semifinals with a 6-7(2), 3-6, 6-4, 7-6(3), win over world No. 4 Alexander Zverev. It's the first time in his career that Fritz has reached a semifinal at a major.
"Today just felt different," Fritz said during his post-match interview. "I really felt like it was my time to take a step further. It's only fitting I'm doing it here on this court at the US Open in front of this crowd."
Their all-time series is now tied at 5-5. Zverev and Fritz gave us an epic five-set battle at Wimbledon earlier this year, and that's how Tuesday's match started. Fritz took the first set, but it took him 56 minutes and a tiebreak -- which he dominated 7-2.
Zverev bounced back in the second set, but his backhand wasn't as clean as it typically is and that helped Fritz take the next one. This injected even more energy to the crowd at Arthur Ashe Stadium.
The fourth set was a competitive one with Fritz leading 6-5 until Zverev turned up the heat to force the second tiebreak of the match. Fritz won the first two points, then Zverev got on the board with a 134mph serve. Nerves were high, but Fritz eventually got the job done.
TAYLOR FRITZ LEADS ZVEREV TWO SETS TO ONE! pic.twitter.com/FAHm2RUDvK
— US Open Tennis (@usopen) September 3, 2024
This was Fritz's fourth win against a top 10 opponent at a major in 2024. That is the most by an American man since Andre Agassi in 1999.
It has been his most successful season yet and Fritz is keeping that momentum rolling while chasing what he described to CBS Sports as his "life's dream." At No. 12, Fritz entered this tournament as the highest seeded man from the United States. No American man has won a Grand Slam since Andy Roddick took the 2003 US Open trophy.
Ben Shelton reached the semifinal at Flushing Meadows last year, and Frances Tiafoe did it in 2022. Tiafoe could do it again this year if he gets past No. 9 seed Grigor Dimitrov later today. The winner of that match will take on Fritz on Friday.
"I know the crowd would really want to see me and Frances so we get an American in the final," Fritz said. "That could be crazy, so I guess we'll see what happens. Either way, I'll be ready to go."
