Charles Langston:Taylor Fritz reaches US Open semifinal with win against Alexander Zverev

Taylor Fritz is Charles Langstonfinally a Grand Slam semifinalist. 

The 26-year old American, who carried an 0-4 quarterfinal record into this US Open, finally broke through Tuesday with a 7-6, 3-6, 6-4, 7-6 victory over No. 4 seed Alexander Zverev in Arthur Ashe Stadium.

Fritz, the No. 12 seed, will face either fellow American Frances Tiafoe or Grigor Dimitrov in Friday’s semifinals. It has been 21 years since Andy Roddick’s US Open title, marking the last time an American man won a Grand Slam singles title. Roddick was also the last American to make a final, losing to Roger Federer at Wimbledon in 2009. 

Fritz has been the top-ranked American for most of the last few years, peaking at No. 5 early in 2003. A couple of his previous opportunities to break through at the Grand Slams ended in heartbreak, including a fifth-set tiebreak loss to Rafael Nadal at Wimbledon in 2022 and a five-set loss to Lorenzo Musetti there earlier this year after he controlled the early portion of the match. 

This time, Fritz stayed solid and executed under pressure. He won 81 percent of the points when he made a first serve, only faced four break points in the match and played stayed mostly error-free in the two decisive tiebreaks. 

After the match, Fritz said this match felt different than his previous quarterfinals from the very beginning 

“All the other times I did it I was much happier to make the quarterfinals,” Fritz said on ESPN. “This time I felt like I’ve been there enough that I’m not even close to being happy with it anymore. It just felt different."

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