Frances Tiafoe into US Open semifinals, as Grigor Dimitrov is injured
Frances Tiafoe reached the US Open semifinals for the third time in three years after his semi-final rival, Grigor Dimitrov, stopped playing due to an injury in the fourth set of Tuesday evening.
Sep 04, 2024 04:17 AM
Sep 4, 2024, 12:17 AM ET
NEW YORK NEW YORK Frances Tiafoe and Taylor Fritz set the stage for an all-American semifinal match at the US Open with victories Tuesday which will guarantee that the United States a man in the title match of the nation’s Grand Slam tournament for the first time in the last 18 years.
The 20th seeded Tiafoe reached the fourth round in the final four at Flushing Meadows for the second time in the space of three years, when his quarterfinal opponent Grigor Dimitrov was forced to withdraw due of an injury during the 4th set. Tiafoe was in the lead 6-3, 7-6 (5) 6-1, 6-3 4-1 as the clock was ticking when Dimitrov was forced to retire from the game, which was an unfortunate conclusion to a game that wasn’t necessarily high-end.
“It’s not the way I want to get through,” Tiafoe stated, “but obviously happy to be able to. Another semifinal is here. Incredible.”
A glimpse of the inconsistent play that both players showed: Dimitrov held three set points in the tiebreaker 3-3. In the first set occasion, Dimitrov double-faulted. In the second He double-faulted once more. The third time, Tiafoe double-faulted, handing over the set.
Just a few hours before, Fritz had made progress in a much more satisfying manner. After several years of climbing up the ranks as the best American player in tennis, of being close to making an impact in one of the tournaments, the four most significant events in tennis, Fritz finally came through at home, defeating no. four Alexander Zverev 7-6 (2) 3-4 7-6 (3) to make it to an important final for the second time.
The 12th seeded Fritz 26, a native of California was in the tournament with a 0-4 record in the Slam quarterfinals.
On Friday, he’ll play his long-time friend Tiafoe the 26-year-old from Maryland who fell to the eventual world champion Carlos Alcaraz in the 2022 US Open semifinals.
“It’s the biggest event in Taylor and me in our lives. We’ve been friends for quite a while. I’ve played against him since tournaments for kids 14 and under,” Tiafoe said during an interview on the court. “So being allowed to play him on the court … it’s going to be a blast. I’m sure we’re two Americans however, I’m hoping that you’ll all be here with me on Friday.”
Fritz holds a 6-1/1 head-to-head advantage over Tiafoe as a pro.
“I definitely wasn’t thinking he was going to do what he’s done,” Tiafoe stated. “He’s changed his body in an incredible way. He’s just extremely skilled. He was an occasional player. He played a few times per week. And He’ll tell you that the school he attended was a regular secondary school. He was just an ordinary kid, while we were out on the field grinding. He then started to put more effort into the game.
“As we got closer it, and we saw how committed he is, and the amount of desire he had when we all started to trend towards pro, we just forced each other to a certain degree of desire to be great. Sometimes we don’t speak about it, and sometimes we talk about it, but we don’t want to let one another go. It’s been an amazing aspect to be part of.”
The showdown between Fritz and Tiafoe — “That could be crazy,” Fritz declared before he could decide who would be his next opponent This is the first semifinal that features two American players at a major since 2005 when Andre Agassi defeated Robby Ginepri in New York.
A single American player has ever won an Grand Slam singles trophy since Andy Roddick triumphed at the US Open in 2003; Roddick was the only player of the United States in the US Open final, where he lost against Roger Federer in the year. Roddick also was the final person who was from United States in a major final at Wimbledon in 2009.
“We spoke about it for years: This is the group,” Tiafoe stated in reference to his own, Fritz, Tommy Paul and Reilly Opelka. “We’ve all been knocking at the door for a while now. Taylor has been in and out of the top 10. I was 10 at this point last year, and Tommy is knocking at the door from quarters and playing fantastic. It’s just an issue of time.
“And the sport itself isn’t at a stage that you’re in the quarterfinals, you take on Rafael Nadal] and you’re assessing flights. This is the way it is. It’s completely different now. There’s no way to say that anyone is unbeatable. In particular, late in the season when the players may be slightly cooked but not as fresh and more prone to being harmed. It’s quite thrilling.”
Dimitrov, seeded at No. 9 in the tournament, played a five-setter in fourth round. He appeared to be losing his energy during the 3rd set, versus Tiafoe as he strained his left hamstring and walking slowly between points and hitting serve much more slowly that he had earlier. After the match, Dimitrov was visited by trainers and then escorted into the gym to receive treatment.
He returned to court to begin the fourth set, but was not capable of moving properly and was eventually forced to quit. Dimitrov is 33 years old and hails native of Bulgaria who has played in three semi-finals major and didn’t reveal afterward what went wrong, merely that it was a combination of issues.
“Just a disappointing moment for me,” Dimitrov declared. “I need to reassess a couple of things.”
The remaining men’s quarterfinals will be played on Wednesday. No. 1 Jannik Sinner against No. 5 Daniil Medvedev, and No. 10 Alex De Minaur against No. 25 Jack Draper.
Associated Press and ESPN’s Coley Harvey contributed to this report.