Taylor Fritz secured his first Grand Slam semi-final appearance at the fifth attempt by defeating Alexander Zverev 7-6(2) 3-6 6-4 7-6(3) at the US Open and insisting “I felt it was my time”.
I really felt like it was my time to go a step further. It’s only fitting I’m doing it here on this court, at the Open, in front of this crowd.
Taylor Fritz
And he must hope the feeling stays with him as he takes on compatriot Frances Tiafoe as they each bid to become the first American in 18 years to reach their home final.
Fritz roared and clenched both fists in delight as he completed the job against fourth-seeded German Zverev before Tiafoe ensured an all-Stars and Stripes showdown overcoming Bulgarian Grigor Dimitrov, who was forced to retire through injury in the fourth set.
Fritz, 26, said: “I feel amazing, I have had a lot of looks at quarter finals over the last few years and today just felt different. I really felt like it was my time to go a step further. It’s only fitting I’m doing it here on this court, at the Open, in front of this crowd.”
And he described the prospect of facing Tiafoe as “crazy” but was “ready to go.”
The breakthrough has been a long time coming for Fritz who is experiencing a Grand Slam for the 33rd time.
He was beaten by Novak Djokovic in the last eight in New York last year, succumbed twice in the quarters at Wimbledon (2022 and 2024) and lost at the same stage in the Australian Open this January.
Fritz squeezed the opening set on a tiebreak, but Zverev seized the momentum by levelling the match and looking strong in the third after battling back from a break. But then the wheels came off for the German. He bungled a regulation backhand which would have broken Fritz at 4-4 and, of course, allowed Zverev to serve out for a two sets to one lead.
The American eventually held and Zverev made three mistakes on his forehand to gift Fritz three set points. The 2020 runner-up managed to save them, but it was delaying the inevitable and Fritz took the set.
Fritz, who defeated Zverev after trailing two sets at Wimbledon this year, contained his opponent’s big serve and managed a few of his own as he tried to sustain his advantage.
But the fourth set was a tight one which went to a tie-break which Fritz kicked off by securing a mini-break. He managed a second following a 24-shot rally which put him 5-2 ahead.
The American wobbled by firing a seemingly comfortable forehand wide. But two errors from Zverev sealed the Fritz victory.
Fritz felt the development of his game was a factor in it. He said: “Having a big serve is helpful but at the top of the game, your serve comes back a little more. I’ve worked on adding so much to my game. My forehand and backhand have always been there, but I’ve been trying to come to the net a bit, trying to mix in some drop shots, just trying to add stuff to the game so I can back up my serve a little bit better.”
A disappointed Alexander Zverev (L) shakes Taylor Fritz’s hand following his semi-final loss
(Photo by Al Bello/Getty Images)
Zverev was candid of his own performance having missed the chances of securing a third US Open semi-final and beyond that a first Slam title.
He said: “I played terrible. I just have no answers right now. He played quite a good match. I did nothing to deserve to win.”
