Broken Tiafoe rues what might have been as emotional Fritz retains US Open dream
For Frances Tiafoe, the dream is over – at least for another 12 months.
“Sometimes, it’s not meant to be,” he said after a second US Open semi-final defeat in three years.
3
Taylor Fritz won the first all-American men’s semi-final at the US Open since 2005, beating Tiafoe in five sets.
The Californian won through to his first Grand Slam final having been halted at the quarterfinal stage in four of his previous nine majors.
Fritz’s time has been coming.
On Sunday night, he will aim to become the first American man to win a Grand Slam since Andy Roddick beat Juan Carlos Ferrero in New York in 2003.
He will face world No.1 Jannik Sinner who saw off a visibly struggling Jack Draper earlier in the evening.
“It’s a dream come true. I’m in the final. So I’m going to come out and give everything I can possibly give,” Fritz, who was fighting back tears, said after his 4-6, 7-5, 4-6, 6-4, 6-1 victory.
“I told myself that if I didn’t give it absolutely everything I had – to just stick with it and see if his level might drop a little bit – then I was going to regret it for a long time.”
Tiafoe, will have to wait. Leading by two sets to one, and tied at 4-4 in the fourth set the 26-year-old from Maryland was just two games away from fulfilling his childhood dream.
His best performances at the Grand Slams have come at Flushing Meadows, his run this year was the third year in succession in reached the last eight.
Beaten in the semifinals by Carlos Alcaraz in 2022, he suffered quarterfinal defeat to Ben Shelton last year, and now semifinal defeat to another fellow American.
3
“I felt like my body shut down on me,” Tiafoe said.
“I got ahead of myself. Really tough to swallow. This one’s gonna hurt really, really bad.”
He has made no secret about his desire to become the US Open champion, his emotional Players Tribute essay in 2017 outlined that
“I’d imagine I was playing against Rafa or Roger in the U.S. Open, that those guys were just on the other side of the wall,” he wrote.
“The US Open is so special, and I’m not even saying that as an American. I just can’t envision a better atmosphere. When I faced off against John Isner [in 2016], I could feel how hungry the crowd was for an American success story.
“I want to be that guy so badly.”
While Tiafoe will watch on, Fritz will aim to keep the American dream alive.
He will also have to deny Sinner a second Grand Slam title of the year after the Italian won the Australian Open and has by most measures been the best player on the ATP Tour this season.
The pair have met twice – both on hard courts – and Fritz can draw some encouragement from the fact he has fared well in them.
Having won their first meeting in straight sets in Indian Wells in 2021, he then lost in three to the Italian at the same venue in 2023.
Jessica Pegula will aim to give American fans a first title of the weekend when she faces Aryna Sabalenka in the women’s final on Saturday night.
Wins for her and Fritz will give the US both singles champions for the first time since 2002 when Serena Williams and Pete Sampras were victorious.