Taylor Fritz is in the semifinals of a tennis Grand Slam tournament for the first time. The 26-year-old Californian eliminated the number four seeded title contender Alexander Zverev in four sets 7:6(2),3:6,6:4,7:6(3) in the quarterfinals of the US Open in New York on Tuesday. Of the top four seeds, only Jannik Sinner is still in the competition after the elimination of Carlos Alcaraz and Novak Djokovic. The top-seeded South Tyrolean will face Daniil Medvedev in the quarterfinals on Wednesday.
In his first major semi-final, Fritz will face either the Bulgarian veteran Grigor Dimitrov or his compatriot Frances Tiafoe. If it is Tiafoe, the crowd in Flushing Meadows will be able to cheer on an American in the men’s final for the first time since Andy Roddick in 2006. “It feels great,” said Fritz. He has already lost several quarter-finals in Grand Slams. This was his fifth attempt. “Today it felt different. I had the feeling that this time it would go a step further.”
Still waiting for Grand Slam title
Zverev, on the other hand, missed another great opportunity. The 2021 Olympic champion must continue to wait for his first Grand Slam title. The 27-year-old German was too passive in the decisive moments and missed his third semi-final at the venue where he had only lost to Dominic Thiem in the final in 2020. Zverev had already lost to Fritz in a five-set thriller in the round of 16 at Wimbledon this year. In New York, Fritz, seeded number 12, converted his first match point after 3:26 hours.
Previously, local hero Emma Navarro became the first American to reach the semifinals of a major tournament. Seeded 13th, the 23-year-old defeated Paula Badosa, a Spaniard also born in New York, 6:2, 7:5 on Wednesday. Badosa was close to reaching a deciding set in the third set when she was leading 5:1, but then completely lost the plot and lost six games in a row.
Navarro revealed that she had already had a certain suspicion when she was 2-5 down in the second round: “When I made it 2-5, I had a feeling it would be two sets. It’s crazy that I’m in the semifinals.” For Navarro, it was the second major quarterfinal after Wimbledon, and she has already had her strongest year on the tour so far. She won her first WTA title in Hobart in January. At Grand Slam tournaments, she had never made it past the first round until this year’s French Open.
With her success next Monday, Navarro will move into the top ten of the world rankings for the first time. She also beat defending champion Coco Gauff in the round of 16 at Flushing Meadows at the weekend. Her next opponent is number two seed Aryna Sabalenka from Belarus, who impressively beat the in-form Olympic champion Zheng Qinwen from China 6-1, 6-2.
“The drinks are on me and in return you support me in the next match,” joked Sabalenka, looking ahead to the upcoming duel with a US player. “It will be a great fight, I’m really looking forward to the match.” For her, it is the fourth semi-final at the US Open in a row.
