NEW YORK -- Taylor Fritz surged with a six-game run against a fading and frustrated Frances Tiafoe to come out on top 4-6, 7-5, 4-6, 6-4, 6-1 in an all-American matchup at the US Open on Friday night and reach his first Grand Slam final.
The No. 12-seeded Fritz's momentum-shift-filled victory against No. 20 Tiafoe -- a pair of 26-year-olds who are close pals and have known each other since they were playing in tournaments for kids younger than 14 -- earned a showdown against No. 1 Jannik Sinner for the championship on Sunday.
Fritz will be the first U.S. man to appear in a major final since Andy Roddick lost to Roger Federer at Wimbledon in 2009. And if he can get past Sinner, Fritz would become the first U.S. man to win a Slam trophy since Roddick got his 21 years ago at the US Open.
"It's the reason why I do what I do," Fritz said, his voice cracking. "It's the reason why I work so hard."
Fritz now has 17 major match wins in 2024, the most by an American man in a year since Roddick's 17 in 2003.
From 4-all in the fourth set Friday, he seized control as Tiafoe's strokes and usual confidence betrayed him. After a double-fault handed over a break to make it 4-0 in the fifth, more than three hours into the proceedings, Tiafoe chucked his racket. Fritz repaid the favor by double-faulting to end the next game, but broke right back and soon it was over.
For Tiafoe, who grew up in Maryland, this was his second time in a major semifinal; he lost to eventual champion Carlos Alcaraz at that stage in New York two years ago. Fritz, a Californian, had never been past the quarterfinals at one of his sport's four most prestigious events until now, but his journey to Friday included wins over a trio of guys with a combined six Slam runner-up showings: Casper Ruud, Alexander Zverev and Matteo Berrettini.
Fritz started well Friday, smacking serves at up to 135 mph, before Tiafoe gathered himself and grabbed five games in a row. Soon, that set was Tiafoe's. In the next, Fritz -- who entered this match with a 6-1 head-to-head lead -- was pretty much perfect, winning 24 of 25 service points and going 8-for-8 at the net. Again, Tiafoe regrouped quickly, breaking to begin the third, which turned out to be enough for that set, because he never allowed Fritz so much as one break chance. Tiafoe gave away the last game of the fourth, double-faulting twice and netting a drop shot, part of an 11-point run for Fritz that contributed to his big lead in the fifth.
It was Tiafoe's 13th loss in a five-setter since the start of 2015, when he made his Grand Slam debut. That's the most losses in five-setters at majors in that span.
ESPN Stats & Information and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
