On Tuesday afternoon, the line separating sun from shadow cut through Arthur Ashe Stadium, making it a little difficult to track the ball, but that was only half the problem.
Even after the sun had set, it wasn’t always easy to understand exactly what was going on. The facts are these: After a back-and-forth against Alexander Zverev that lasted four sets and three and a half hours, Taylor Fritz is into his first Grand Slam semi-final.
What doesn’t the scoreboard show? All the chaos the American number one had to go through to get there, as this match went back and forth.
There was one false dawn after another. There were gifts and wasted opportunities. There were moments of electrifying quality diluted by battles of attrition. Every time a player seemed to have taken control, they were given back again.
Even Nick Kyrgios was perplexed. “What the hell is going on?” the Australian said after a 37-stroke rally. In the end, Fritz was able to claim victory. Frances Tiafoe could make it an American semi-final within hours.
Taylor Fritz beat Alexander Zverev to reach the US Open semi-finals in Flushing Meadows
The American is a Grand Slam semi-finalist for the first time after this four-set victory
This was not always convincing: the American was too passive on too many important points as Zverev dragged him into a melee. But the American got the job done 7-6, 3-6, 6-4, 7-6. No wonder the excitement boiled over once he won match point.
This was the second time in as many months that Fritz and Zverev gave fans a hard time. At Wimbledon, the American recovered from a two-set deficit to win a thrilling five-set match.
But that comeback was soon forgotten amid a dispute involving Zverev and Fritz’s girlfriend Morgan Riddle. Both during and after the match, the influencer posted social media posts that appeared to reference allegations of abuse against the world No. 4. He has denied any wrongdoing and also resurfaced.
On Tuesday, Riddle was once again in Fritz’s box. She cheered, clapped and fanned herself. She also disappeared at times, but stayed away from the phone.
And this victory will be all about Fritz, his adventure into uncharted waters and his attempt to become the first American to win the US Open in more than two decades.
Zverev, seeded No. 4, was defeated in just under three and a half hours at Arthur Ashe.
Fritz was cheered on by his girlfriend Morgan Riddle during this US Open quarter-final match.
Fritz had already broken new ground in those two weeks: No American had reached the fourth round of all four Grand Slams in a calendar year since 2003, and no American had played in three quarterfinals since 2007. But none of that mattered if this fifth Grand Slam quarterfinal went like the previous four. It didn’t.
Arthur Ashe was pretty sleepy on Tuesday afternoon, at least compared to the cauldron of noise and cocktails that greeted Tommy Paul and Jannik Sinner the night before.
Instead, Fritz and Zverev were greeted on court by a sea of empty seats. Thousands of fans had come out to lunch and sunbathe between matches; many were still returning when Fritz earned the first break point.
It came after a terrific exchange of blows from the centre of the court. The American let the opportunity pass rather meekly, but at least the fuse was lit. However, neither man was completely satisfied. Neither was playing with the consistency or aggression necessary to take control.
Fritz took both the first and fourth sets in a tiebreak to reach the last four for the first time.
Fritz had four chances to break his serve (three of them at 6-5), but he failed to convert any of them. Instead, he hit three points into the crowd and Zverev took us to the tie-break.
It would have been a huge blow if Fritz had fallen behind after all that. He didn’t, but it seemed rather fitting that on set point the American needed three kills to finally finish off his opponent.
That helped rouse Ashe from his slumber and put Zverev on the brink. As the first set faded, the No. 4 seed began berating his box and staring at his racquet.
Within minutes, however, Zverev was standing with his arms outstretched. Somehow, the German had managed to get a forehand shot off the net and into the baseline.
Zverev produced a rare moment of magic but was ultimately defeated by the 12th seed.
It was a scandal that served to remind Fritz that his grip on the match remained fragile. He ignored the warning. In his next service game, the American lost the first break point and then hit another ball into the stands. Within a couple of minutes, Zverev had wrapped up the second set and was threatening to take control.
The German forced another break point in the first game of the third set and suddenly Fritz was reeling. However, to the American’s credit, he kept his cool and held serve.
Then came Fritz’s chance to seize the momentum: the 12th seed broke to go 2-0 up. Then it was his turn to return serve immediately: 3-0 became 3-3 and the match was in the balance once again.
The tide eventually turned in Fritz’s favour, but only after he had lost that 37-stroke fight that left Kyrgios in uncharted territory: speechless. And only after he had won five break points and wasted the first four.
The tension hardly eased as the fourth set dragged on. There was just one surprise: once Fritz took the lead in the tiebreak, it was all a piece of cake from there on.