American ATP players typically don’t make it this far, but this year’s US Open is an exception, as Taylor Fritz and Frances Tiafoe are still alive. Fritz and Tiafoe have never made it to the semi-finals of a Grand Slam, but now here they are after the latest round of US Open 2024 results.
Another player that has caught SBOTOP tennis fans by surprise is Alex de Minaur, as he is back to the quarter-finals of this competition after a four-year wait.
Meanwhile, Jannik Sinner suddenly became the favourite to win this tournament, according to the updated US Open 2024 odds, after the shocking exits of Carlos Alcaraz and Novak Djokovic.
However, in order to win his second career Grand Slam this year, he’ll have to eliminate a familiar opponent in the quarter-finals.
Fritz, Tiafoe set up all-American semis
Hometown heroes Taylor Fritz and Frances Tiafoe will meet in the US Open semi-finals following their big wins over Alexander Zverev and Grigor Dimitrov in the previous round.
Fritz lost to Djokovic in last year’s US Open quarter-finals, but he was not to be denied this time.
After winning the first and losing the second set, it appeared that Alexander Zverev would fully regain the momentum after recovering from an early break. However, the German missed a backhand on break point at 4-4, allowing Fritz to hold and eventually break through.
From there, Fritz never looked back, as Zverev’s final two errors in the fourth and final set sealed the deal, and the 26-year-old American is now through to the semis for the first time after 33 Grand Slam appearances.
Tiafoe, on the other hand, also split the first two sets with Dimitrov. During the latter stages of the eighth game in the third set, Dimitrov was hobbling due to a hamstring issue, so he was treated by the physio at the end of the set.
The Bulgarian international tried his best to continue, but the pain was too much to bear, gifting Tiafoe a walkover victory after three hours and four minutes.
The semi-final battle between Taylor Fritz and Frances Tiafoe is the first all-American men’s major semi-final since the 2005 US Open contest between Andre Agassi and Robby Ginepri. Fritz has a 6-1 edge over Tiafoe in their head-to-heads.
Moreover, the winner between these two will become the first American man to advance to a Grand Slam singles final since Andy Roddick in 2009 Wimbledon.
Sinner has a score to settle against Medvedev
Reigning Australian Open champion Jannik Sinner became the eighth player to reach the men’s singles quarter-finals at all four Grand Slams in a season since 2000 after beating Tommy Paul on Monday.
The top-ranked player in the ATP earned his latest victory the hard way, as he battled from two breaks down in the first set.
Tommy Paul jumped out to a 4-1 lead and scored 11 consecutive points in the first set, but Sinner notched 10 of the next 12 to tie the set 4-4. And after a couple of back and forths, Sinner eventually took the first.
Sinner and Paul continued to go back and forth in the second set, and after winning the second, the former never looked back from there.
Sinner is set to face Daniil Medvedev in a clash of the only two major champions remaining in the draw. The latter defeated the former in the Wimbledon quarter-finals to snap his five-match losing streak against the young Italian.
de Minaur punching above his weight
Alex de Minaur is through to the US Open quarter-finals for the second time ever following his epic victory against compatriot Jordan Thompson on Tuesday.
In the build-up to the US Open, Alex de Minaur arrived at the Flushing Meadows with low expectations because he was dealing with a hip injury that knocked him out of contention in Wimbledon and in the Paris Olympics.
However, against Thompson, de Minaur came out hot out of the gates, winning the first set by holding his compatriot scoreless.
Alex de Minaur may have dropped the second set, but he reacted well in the third set, winning 93-per cent of his first-serve points and gaining the decisive break of the set in the sixth game. The fourth set was tougher for de Minaur since he had to rally from 1-3. With his latest victory, Alex de Minaur became the first Australian since Lleyton Hewitt to reach three consecutive Grand Slam quarter-finals. The No. 10 seed will take on Jack Draper, who swept aside Tomas Machac in the Round of 16, next.
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