New York (AFP) – Frances Tiafoe and Taylor Fritz attempt to set up an all-American US Open semi-final on Tuesday and move closer to ending the country’s 21-year wait for a male Grand Slam champion. Both men were only five when Andy Roddick defeated Juan Carlos Ferrero in the 2003 US Open final, a victory achieved on the cusp of the sport’s domination by the ‘Big Three’ of Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, and Novak Djokovic.
However, with Federer long retired, Nadal injured, and Djokovic, as well as modern-day superstar Carlos Alcaraz, knocked out early this year, the final Grand Slam of the season is wide open. World number 20 Tiafoe is in the quarter-finals for the third successive year, having made the semi-finals in 2022, where he lost in five sets to eventual champion Alcaraz. On the way, he defeated four-time champion Nadal in the last 16, while back in 2017, he famously pushed Federer to five sets in the first round.
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“Grand Slams, two weeks, a lot going on,” said Tiafoe. “You can’t get ahead of yourself and look at what could happen and things shaking out. Everyone is good, so it doesn’t really matter who’s in or who’s not.” On Tuesday, under the Arthur Ashe Stadium lights, the 26-year-old takes on Grigor Dimitrov, who at 33 is the oldest man left in the draw. The Bulgarian is seeking a second semi-final spot in New York after making the last four in 2019. Back then, Dimitrov defeated Federer in the last eight, ending the Swiss legend’s US Open career before losing to Daniil Medvedev.
Widely regarded as one of the finest players never to win a Grand Slam title, Dimitrov has yet to even make a final at the majors after 15 years of trying. Fritz tackles fourth-ranked Alexander Zverev, who was runner-up to Dominic Thiem in the 2020 US Open final, where he gave up a two-set lead. The German star also came off second-best to Alcaraz in the French Open final in June in another five-setter.
“I’m doing everything I can to win a Slam; everything else is out of my power,” said Zverev, chasing a third semi-final in New York. “I’m trying my best, and hopefully, it will be enough at some stage in my career.” Fritz made the last eight in 2023 and has already reached three quarter-finals at the Slams this year. The 12th-ranked American defeated Zverev in the fourth round at Wimbledon from two sets down, with the German hampered by a knee injury that forced him to complete the match “on one leg.”
In the women’s event, Olympic champion Zheng Qinwen of China seeks to avenge her Australian Open final defeat to second-ranked Aryna Sabalenka. The Chinese star has made the quarter-finals for a second successive year after losing to Sabalenka in 2023. Zheng has already made history at this year’s US Open by defeating Donna Vekic in the latest ever finish for a women’s match at 2:15 a.m. on Monday. She is now bidding to become the third Chinese woman to reach the semi-finals after Li Na in 2013 and Peng Shuai in 2014.
Sabalenka is in her fourth successive US Open quarter-final. In the day’s other last-eight tie, Spain’s Paula Badosa tackles Emma Navarro of the United States, seeking a first Grand Slam semi-final place just three months after she considered quitting the sport with a back injury. “I was feeling pain every day I was waking up,” said Badosa of the injury that sent her world ranking plummeting out of the top 100.
Badosa, now back in the top 30, is bidding to become the first Spanish woman to make the semi-finals since Conchita Martinez in 1996. Navarro made her first US Open quarter-final by knocking out defending champion Coco Gauff in three sets on Sunday. Before this year, the 12th-ranked New Yorker had lost in the first round in her two previous visits.
© 2024 AFP
