Taylor Fritz on Friday became the first American man since 2009 to reach a Grand Slam final, setting up a US Open title showdown today against world No. 1 Jannik Sinner.
Fritz, the world No. 12, twice fought back to defeat compatriot Frances Tiafoe 4-6, 7-5, 4-6, 6-4, 6-1 in their semi-final.
Australian Open champion Sinner became the first Italian man to make the New York final with a 7-5, 7-6 (7/3), 6-2 win over an ailing Jack Draper of the UK.
Photo: AFP
“He overwhelmed me at the start and I was freaking out a little,” 26-year-old Fritz said 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.”
Andy Roddick was the previous American to make a men’s singles final at a Slam, at Wimbledon in 2009. He was also the last man from the country to capture a major title when he won the 2003 US Open.
Fritz was just five years old at the time.
Tiafoe was the better player for large parts of their semi-final, but after dumping a lazy drop shot into the net to surrender the fourth set, his game fell apart.
In a 27-minute final set, Tiafoe won just nine points as he slumped to a second US Open semi-final loss in his past three visits.
“It’s tough to swallow, it’s going to hurt,” Tiafoe said. “I thought I was the better player, but in the fourth set I had some cramps. My body kind of shut down on me. Probably to do with nerves.”
Earlier, in a three-hour match, Draper, the first British man in the semi-finals since Andy Murray won the title in 2012, was undone by 10 double faults and 43 unforced errors.
He also vomited on the court, blaming anxiety for the illness.
“Jack and I know each other very well, we are great friends off court,” said Sinner, who unleashed 43 winners in the match where he also injured his wrist in a nasty fall. “It was a very physical match. He’s so tough to beat so I’m excited to be in the final.”
BOOT TO FACE: Wilfried Singo said that his actions were not intentional, ‘but I was able to see afterwards that’ the ’keeper had a significant face injury Paris Saint-Germain on Wednesday came from behind to extend their unbeaten start to the Ligue 1 season with a 4-2 win away against AS Monaco, but lost goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma to a gruesome facial injury. The bloodied Italy international was left requiring 10 staples after sustaining lacerations to the right side of his face when he was caught by the studs of Monaco defender Wilfried Singo. “I don’t know if the referee was badly positioned, but VAR [video assistant referee] needed to intervene, you have to protect the players,” PSG captain Marquinhos said. “To not give a red in a situation like
Cheng Chen Chin-mei on Saturday beamed broadly as she hoisted a 35kg weightlifting bar to her waist, dropped it and waved confidently to the enthusiastic crowd in a competition in Taipei. Cheng Chen, 90, has been pumping iron since last year, encouraged by her granddaughter to take up the sport after she was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease. She credits the regimen with helping to fix her posture. Three generations of her family were among a couple of hundred people watching Cheng Chen and 44 others aged 70 or older in the weightlifting competition. In the three-round event, Cheng Chen lifted as much as
Zach LaVine on Thursday scored a season-high 36 points to lead the Chicago Bulls to a 117-108 upset victory against defending NBA champions the Boston Celtics, while LeBron James once again made history. LaVine went 11-of-19 from the floor and made six three-pointers while adding six rebounds and four assists for the Bulls, who improved to 13-15 for the season. “We’re a good team,” LaVine said. “We’re competitive and we’re a resilient group.” Ayo Dosunmu contributed 17 points for the Bulls, while Nikola Vucevic had 16 points and 14 rebounds for Chicago. The Bulls outscored Boston 35-22 in the fourth quarter to rally past
Teenage sensation Luke “The Nuke” Littler on Saturday set a tournament record with a 140.91 set average as he secured a second-round win in the PDC World Darts Championship with a 3-1 victory over fellow Englishman Ryan Meikle late. The 17-year-old came close to winning the World Championship in January, but lost in the final to Luke Humphries. Now, he has started the latest edition on a high note. Tournament favorite Littler fired in four maximum 180s, while winning three consecutive legs in 11, 10 and 11 darts, setting a record set average and finishing with an overall average of 100.85. “It was
RSS