Tag: Frances Tiafoe

Taylor Fritz fought back to defeat compatriot Frances Tiafoe at the US Open on Friday, becoming the first American man to reach a Grand Slam final in 15 years.

Fritz, the world number 12, won 4-6, 7-5, 4-6, 6-4, 6-1 and will take on top-ranked Jannik Sinner for the title on Sunday.

“He overwhelmed me at the start and I was freaking out a little,” said 26-year-old Fritz after securing victory with a 16th ace.

“I just told myself to stay in it, hold serve and apply scoreboard pressure.

“I did all I could to stay in it. If I hadn’t have done that I’d regret it forever. In the final, I will come out and give it everything.”

Australian Open champion Jannik Sinner earlier became the first Italian man to make the US Open final with a 7-5, 7-6 (7/3), 6-2 win over Britain’s Jack Draper.

Andy Roddick was the last American to make a men’s singles final at the Slams at Wimbledon in 2009. He was also the last man from the country to capture a Slam title when he won the 2003 US Open.

Tiafoe went into Friday’s match trailing 6-1 in his head-to-head record against his compatriot.

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However, he boasted the more impressive Grand Slam credentials, playing in his second US Open semi-final in his last three appearances.

Taylor Fritz was in unknown territory, having fallen at the quarter-final stage at the Slams on four occasions.

Tiafoe used that greater experience to hit back from 3-0 in the first set to clinch the opener.

Fritz, who had reached the semi-final by defeating fourth-ranked Alexander Zverev in the previous round, was unable to convert a set point in the 10th game of the second set.

He succeeded at the next time of asking to level the match before handing the initiative straight back when Tiafoe broke for 1-0 in the third and held the advantage to retake the lead.

In a match where there were few rallies and little real drama, Fritz levelled again in the 10th game of the fourth set when Tiafoe dumped a lazy drop shot into the net.

That suddenly drained the spirit from Frances Tiafoe as Taylor Fritz raced to victory in a brutally one-sided decider in which his opponent managed just nine points.

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World number one Jannik Sinner on Monday lifted his third ATP Masters trophy as the world number one beat Frances Tiafoe 7-6 (7/4), 6-2 to win the Cincinnati Open.

The Italian top seed warmed up for next week’s US Open in style, biding his time in a hard-fought first set before breaking the match open in the second.

Tiafoe, whose game faded after losing the first-set tiebreaker, still made an impression.

The American, who moves into the ranking top-20, saved three match points before Sinner claimed his 15th career title.

Cincinnati is the fifth trophy of 2024 for the 23-year-old Italian, who began the season with an Australian Open crown in Melbourne.

“I’m happy, this was a very difficult week,” Sinner said. “It was tough mentally but I tried to do my best.

“Frances and I were both tired from the (Sunday) semi-finals and there was a lot of tension.

“I’m just glad I kept my level in the important moments. I handled the situations on court well.

“There were many ups and downs, but that’s normal. At the big moments of each match I played well.”

Jannik Sinner heads to the August 26 start of the US Open as a major favourite, standing more than 2,000 points clear of world number two Novak Djokovic.

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“I’m confident, but it’s important to be able to recover to be ready for New York,” the Italian said afterwards.

“That is the main goal of this US Open swing. “I’m happy to be in the position I’m in. I have the hunger to keep playing. I hope to show good tennis in New York.”

Against Tiafoe, Sinner hit 29 winners, including 13 aces and broke the American twice from eight attempts.

“I’m really tired,” Tiafoe told Sinner at the net afterwards. “I’m not used to playing so many matches like you big guys. Well-played.”

The pair duelled for nearly an hour in the opening set, with the Italian making 10 aces on the way into a tiebreaker.

One crack in Tiafoe’s defence was enough to hand Sinner two set-point chances, with the first converted by the top seed for the early lead.

Frances Tiafoe dropped serve to start the second as his reserves began to run dry, Sinner achieved a double break in a fifth game lasting for more than 10 minutes with seven deuces.

With a 4-1 lead, the Italian still had to fight, with Tiafoe saving three match points to climb to 5-2 before the top seed completed his work a game later.

Jannik Sinner is the youngest champion here since Andy Murray in 2008.

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