Taylor Fritz on Friday will take on Frances Tiafoe in the semifinals of the U.S. Open, the first time the Torrey Pines High alum has made it this far in a Grand Slam event.
He defeated fourth-seed Alexander Zverev 7-6(2), 3-6, 6-4, 7-6(3) Tuesday in the Open quarterfinals. He had been in 33 Grand Slam tournaments without making it to a semifinal, but years of experience prepared him for his moment this week.
“You know, that’s definitely what happened now,” the No. 12 seed told the media, according to USOpen.org. “The quarterfinals didn’t feel like this big thing to me like it has, I guess, in the past.”
Fritz and Tiafoe, both 26, will meet at 4 p.m. PST Friday.
No. 20 Tiafoe prevailed over Grigor Dimitrov of Bulgaria, who had to retire due to injury in the fourth set of their quarterfinal. Tiafoe led 6-3, 6-7 (7-5), 6-3, 4-1 at the time.
As professionals, Fritz has a 6-1 advantage against Tiafoe. The duo, who are friends, have met for years in the youth ranks.
“It’s the biggest match of me and Taylor’s life. We’ve known each other for so long,” Tiafoe shared in an on-court interview.
Aside from their personal stakes, when either Fritz or Tiafoe advances, he will end a long drought, becoming the first American man to appear in a U.S. Open singles finals since 2006.
In the other semifinal, also on Friday, top seed Jannik Sinner will face No. 25 Jack Draper.