American Taylor Fritz meets No. 1 Jannik Sinner in U.S. Open final

QUEENS, N.Y. – Armed with a powerful serve and superb endurance against one of the game’s most athletic players, Taylor Fritz stormed into the U.S. Open final with a 4-6, 7-5, 4-6, 6-4, 6-1 win against Francis Tiafoe on Friday to become the first American male Grand Slam singles finalist since Andy Roddick, who lost the 2009 Wimbledon title to Roger Federer.

Fritz’s voice finally wobbled at that, cracking with emotion on court as he said the words, almost as if he was convincing himself: “I’m in the finals of the U.S. Open.

“It’s just joy, like, the crowd cheering and kind of that realization, like wow, I’m in the finals of the U.S. Open. It’s such a lifelong dream come true, something I’ve worked my whole life for to be in this situation,” Fritz added later. “I think just kind of like realizing that got me a little bit choked up.

“It’s the reason why I do what I do. It’s the reason why I work so hard. I’m in the finals of the U.S. Open.”

Fritz won’t be facing a legend such as Federer in Sunday’s championship match, but he will have to go through world No. 1 Jannik Sinner to become the first American man to win a Grand Slam singles trophy since Roddick won in New York in 2003. Sinner beat Brit Jack Draper 7-5, 7-6 (7-3), 6-2 earlier Friday in a match about as physically dramatic as a three-set match can be. Both needed medical attention in the second set after Draper vomited multiple times and Sinner caught himself with his left wrist in a hard fall.

After three sets, Tiafoe and Fritz were practically even on paper – Tiafoe had won 87 points to Fritz’s 86, they both had made 24 unforced errors, and Tiafoe had eight aces to Fritz’s seven. They both had topped out with 135-mph serves.

Tiafoe had only 26 winners to Fritz’s 34 at the time, but he had taken a 2-1 set lead by taking advantage of Fritz’s nerves and breaking his serve more often, making his higher-ranked friend hit an extra ball, then smashing a winner when it counted most.

But the lead came with a cost: With the prospect of becoming the first American man in a Grand Slam final in 15 years, Tiafoe let his mind wander.

“ ‘… Let’s get this fourth done, going to be in the final.’ That’s normal thinking, for sure,” Tiafoe said. “But in the past matches before, I was only thinking about what it takes to win rather than think about what’s potentially ahead.”

Fritz won six straight games to take the fourth set and jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the fifth. Tiafoe started cramping, looking spent as Fritz served out the match.

“It’s tough. It’s really, really tough. Really, really tough to swallow,” Tiafoe said. “This one’s going to hurt really, really bad.”