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 [September 07, 2024]
By Amy Tennery
NEW YORK (Reuters) -Taylor Fritz held on to beat Frances Tiafoe 4-6
7-5 4-6 6-4 6-1 in a blockbuster all-American semi-final at the U.S.
Open on Friday and will take on the role of the underdog when he
meets Italian top seed Jannik Sinner in the finale.
It's the first time in 15 years that an American man has reached a
major final and both Fritz and Tiafoe wanted to be the one to break
the barren streak. But Fritz had the legs to go the distance with 16
aces while Tiafoe lost steam in the fourth set.
It capped an action-packed programme at Arthur Ashe Stadium, as
Sinner took down ailing Briton Jack Draper 7-5 7-6(3) 6-2,
overcoming muggy conditions in a chaotic match.
Fritz and Sinner, who are deadlocked 1-1 in career head-to-head,
will meet on Sunday.
"It's a dream come true, I'm in the final so I'm going to come out
and give everything I possibly have and I know that for a fact," an
emotional Fritz said after the match.
"I'm going to give it everything I can possibly give."
Fritz got a 0-3 head start in the first set but Tiafoe showed he
would not be pushed around as he broke back from the baseline in the
fifth game and outlasted Fritz in a 16-shot rally to take the lead
in the seventh game.
The longer rallies gave way to quick points in the second set, where
Fritz held to love in five straight service games and put up just
three unforced errors before breaking Tiafoe with a terrific drop
shot on set point.
Tiafoe got his revenge as he sent a forehand winner down the line to
go up a break in the opening game of the third set and he raised his
fist in satisfaction after taking the frame.
Tiafoe began to show signs of fatigue in the fourth set after an
epic, 31-shot rally in the seventh game and he helped Fritz to the
break in the 10th with a pair of double faults and a couple of
unforced errors.
An exhausted Tiafoe tossed his racket in frustration after a double
fault on break point saw him trailing 0-4 in the final set.
He got on the board when he broke Fritz in the fifth game but that
sliver of momentum evaporated quickly and Fritz smiled after closing
it out with an ace.
"He was overwhelming from the baseline," said Fritz. "He was taking
the ball so early, changing lines so well. It was really
overwhelming."
Sinner had an easier day as he closed it out against Draper in
straight sets but left Flushing Meadows with injury concerns after
he fell in the second set and appeared to hurt his wrist.
Little went right for Draper, who vomited three times in the second
set as he struggled with heat and humidity that also left his shirt
soaked in sweat.
Ten double faults also failed to help the 22-year-old's bid to reach
a Grand Slam final for the first time.
"It was a very physical match as we saw. I just tried to stay there
mentally," said Sinner, who has survived the intense pressure of
being the overwhelming favorite to win his first U.S. Open title
following the early exits of Novak Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz.
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Tennis - U.S. Open - Flushing Meadows, New York, United States -
September 6, 2024 Italy's Jannik Sinner in action during his semi
final match against Britain's Jack Draper REUTERS/Shannon Stapleton
Sinner and Draper traded early breaks in the first
set but the momentum swung in the Italian's direction when the
Briton dropped serve in the 11th game with a double fault.
Draper held his serve through a marathon, four-deuce opening game in
the second set but could not convert a break point chance in the
second game. From then on, the contest turned into a nightmare for
the 25th seed.
The Briton dropped his racket and ran to his bench to change his
sweat-drenched shoes after the sixth game and he threw up twice in
the eighth game, waving off the umpire's attempts to pause the match
and bring out a crew to clean the mess.
Sinner looked to be in trouble after he slipped and fell in the
ninth game, wincing in pain after bracing himself with his left hand
in the fall.
One physio came to massage the Italian’s wrist while another came to
help the ailing Draper during the changeover.
Draper requested another set of fresh shoes from his locker and
battled on, vomiting for a third time in the 12th game before Sinner
sprinted through the tiebreak.
Sinner got the critical break in the final set with a terrific
backhand winner down the line in the sixth game and Draper looked
miserable as he sipped a soda on his bench after the seventh game.
Sinner closed it out with a backhand winner on match point,
embracing his opponent at the net.
Earlier in the day, Latvian Jelena Ostapenko and Ukraine's Lyudmyla
Kichenok won the women's doubles crown, beating Chinese-French pair
Zhang Shuai and Kristina Mladenovic 6-4 6-3 after coming up short in
the Australian Open final.
(Reporting by Amy Tennery in New York, additional reporting by Rory
Carroll in Los Angeles and Shrivathsa Sridhar in Bengaluru, editing
by Pritha Sarkar, Sam Holmes and Edwina Gibbs)
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