NEW YORK — For the first time ever, Taylor Fritz is a Grand Slam semifinalist.
The American defeated Germany’s Alexander Zverev — 7-6, 3-6, 6-4, 7-6 — in a hard-fought quarterfinal match at the US Open on Tuesday afternoon to advance to the final four.
Despite the match at Arthur Ashe Stadium not going the distance, Fritz and Zverev engaged in a tight battle that required tiebreaks to settle the first and final sets. Fritz won 139 points, compared to Zverev’s 134, over the three-hour, 26-minute marathon.
The fourth set was particularly epic. Fritz and Zverev alternated wins over the first 12 games, with both holding serve every time to force a tiebreak. Fritz ultimately won that tiebreak, 7-3, after winning the first-set tiebreak, 7-2.
Fritz had made it to the quarterfinal round at four previous Grand Slams, including last year’s US Open, where he lost to eventual champion Novak Djokovic. Fritz also advanced to the quarterfinals at this year’s Australian Open and Wimbledon.
“I’ve had a lot of looks at quarterfinals over the past couple of years, and today just felt different,” Fritz said Tuesday during his on-court interview. “I really felt like it was my time now to take a step further, and it’s only fitting doing it here.”
The 26-year-old from Southern California hopes to break a two-decade drought for American men at the Open. The U.S. has not won a men’s singles title at Flushing Meadows since Andy Roddick in 2003. An American man has not appeared in the Open final since Roddick in 2006.
At No. 12, Fritz is the ATP’s top-ranked American.
His win at Arthur Ashe Stadium on Tuesday occurred hours after New York City-born Emma Navarro defeated Spain’s Paula Badosa on the same court in straight sets, clinching her first trip to a Grand Slam semifinal.
Zverev, who was the Open’s No. 4 seed, is still seeking his first Grand Slam title. He made it to the Open final in 2020 and to the French Open final earlier this year.
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