Fritz, Navarro, Tiafoe reach semis on home soil
©Corinne Dubreuil / FFTWhen you’ve lost all four previous Grand Slam quarter-finals you’ve played, it’s easy to develop a complex about that particular hurdle.
Taylor Fritz however managed to avoid that trap, and looked sharp and confident in his 7-6(2), 3-6, 6-4 7-6(3) victory over No.4 seed Alexander Zverev, which sent the American into the first major semi-final of his career.
“I'd say I think the way I came out today was different, because I just have been in this situation enough times. I think a question I got asked pretty much every time I lost in my quarter-finals was, what's it going to take to go further, and the answer I gave was always, just keep putting myself in these situations, and I'll become more comfortable in these situations and get better,” explained Fritz.
“That's definitely what happened now. The quarter-finals didn't feel like, I don't know, this big thing to me like it has been in the past. It just felt like another tournament.”
Fritz is the fourth active American man to reach a Slam semi-final. He was ranked No.1 in the world as a junior and for a long time was seen as the leader of his generation of American male tennis players. But at the majors, Fritz had to watch his good friends and contemporaries like Frances Tiafoe, Tommy Paul, and even the relatively younger Ben Shelton, all reach the last-four stage at the majors before he was able to hit that milestone.
©Corinne Dubreuil / FFT“I was always happy for them. I think, honestly, like pumped for them,” said Fritz.
“I think the mental coping that I was doing for it was, well, every time I was in the quarters I played Djokovic,” he added with a laugh.
“I think that was my, like, way to just, like, protect my ego. But then I got a look at Wimbledon where I didn't play Novak in a quarter. I guess my three quarters before were Novak, Novak, and Rafa. So then I got one where I played Musetti and he outplayed me and I lost.
“I think that's when I was, like, okay, maybe I can't, that excuse doesn't quite work out anymore. No, it was always genuinely, like, just really happy for my friends to see them have the success and if anything, it always gave me the confidence that I can do it too.”
Fritz will square off with his compatriot Tiafoe in the last-four stage, meaning there will be an American man in the US Open title decider for the first time since Andre Agassi made the final in New York back in 2006.
The 20th-seeded Tiafoe, a semi-finalist at his home Slam two years ago, booked his meeting with Fritz after moving past Bulgarian Grigor Dimitrov, who retired with an unspecified leg muscle issue at 6-3, 6-7(5), 6-3, 4-1.
Friday's affair will be the first all-American men’s singles Grand Slam semi-final since Agassi defeated Robby Ginepri at the 2005 US Open.
"You put yourself in positions, it's only a matter of matter of time, and the game is open. It's not like it once was where you make quarter-finals, you play Rafa, and you're looking at flights. I mean, that's just the reality," said Tiafoe, who made the Cincinnati final in the build-up to this US Open.
"Now it's just totally different. And no one's unbeatable. Especially later in the season where guys are maybe a little bit cooked. Maybe just not as fresh and they're vulnerable.
"It's pretty exciting. First time since '09 (an American man will be in a Grand Slam final). Hopefully it's me."
Another American to reach a maiden Grand Slam semi-final on Tuesday is Emma Navarro.
The New York-born Charlestonian is an incredibly fast learner. Not just because of how quick she rose on the professional circuit after her two years at University of Virginia. But from one tournament to another, she’s able to use her experience – good or bad – to do better in the next one.
Tuesday was a prime example of that.
The 23-year-old was playing the second Grand Slam quarter-final of her career, taking on former world No.2 Paula Badosa at the US Open.
Navarro’s most recent appearance at that stage at a major came at Wimbledon in July, where she fell to Jasmine Paolini easily, 6-2, 6-1.
Against Badosa, Navarro took the opening set before trailing the Spaniard 1-5 in the second.
She then, “got an inkling” that she could still win this match in straight sets and proceeded to take the next six games to punch her ticket to a maiden Grand Slam semi-final with a 6-2, 7-5 result.
“I think maybe at Wimbledon I talked myself into some emotions that I didn’t necessarily feel or need to feel being in the quarter-finals of a Grand Slam,” said Navarro, reflecting on the difference in her mindset between then and now.
“So coming out on the court here today I felt much more comfortable. I was ready to rock. I think I’m at a point in my career where I’m not scared of any result or making a run at any tournament.”
That fearlessness is very obvious when watching Navarro on a tennis court these days and it has been rewarded, not just with a place in the semi-finals, but a debut spot in the world’s top 10.
Next up for Navarro is No.2 seed Aryna Sabalenka, who reached a fourth consecutive US Open semi-final with a 6-1, 6-2 result against Chinese No.7 seed Zheng Qinwen.
A two-time Australian Open champion, Sabalenka has now won 25 of her last 26 matches at hard-court Grand Slams, having also made the final in New York last year, where she lost to Coco Gauff.
With Roger Federer watching on from the stands, Sabalenka extended her current winning streak to 10 matches, as she looks to build on her title run in Cincinnati from last month, by securing a first US Open trophy.
Sabalenka faced, and saved, just one break point during the match and wrapped up the win in 71 minutes.
She will be facing Navarro for the third time this season. Navarro had the upper hand when they met at Indian Wells before Sabalenka avenged that loss at Roland-Garros two months later.
Asked by Pam Shriver in her on-court interview how she planned on getting the crowd on her side when she takes on an American in the semi-finals, Sabalenka said with a laugh: "Drinks on me tonight?"
That could work!
Navarro is through to her sixth hard-court semi-final of the season – no player has reached more on the surface in 2024 – and now owns a tour-leading 30 hard-court victories this campaign.
Sabalenka has now made the semi-finals or better in eight of her last 12 Grand Slam appearances.
Zverev pulled off this stunner early in the second set against Fritz.
“I never had the momentum in this match. I played four or five games okay. It was 5-1, but I never felt myself in the court. I think today it surprised me because I was playing pretty good the other matches, I was feeling good. But when I walked into the court, I think I didn't match well the situation or the emotions. It was a bit hard to handle for me. I wanted to win so much that sometimes that doesn't help at all.”
– Badosa gives a brutally honest assessment of her performance against Navarro on Tuesday.
“It doesn't get easier, I tell you that much. But when you've done certain things a certain way throughout your career, I think a lot of moments, like, outside of tennis, really humble you in a very different way. That's why when I have something like that comes around, I mean, for sure I take it and I hurt with it, yeah, you have to. I don't want to just, like, brush it off, like, that's fine.”
– Dimitrov shares his perspective after being forced to retire against Tiafoe in the quarter-finals.
ROLAND-GARROS
19 May - 8 June 2025
