CNN
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American Frances Tiafoe, who reached the semi-finals of the US Open two years ago, is on another strong run in New York – and had to cheer on a certain member of the crowd before she left the court at Arthur Ashe Stadium.

Tiafoe, who had the fans loudly behind him on Sunday night, defeated his friend, No. 28 Alexei Popyrin of Australia – 6-4, 7-6(3), 2-6, 6-3 – in just over three hours to reach the quarter-finals for the third year in a row.

“I always dreamed of playing on this court,” Tiafoe said after the win. “I was hitting the wall as a kid and I wanted to play on this court.

“When I saw the Williams sisters winning titles here, and Roger (Federer) winning a million times here, I thought, ‘I just want to play on this court.’

“It’s so iconic, obviously, named after Arthur Ashe, so I wanted to be a part of it. And it just brings out the best in me. And you guys are incredible fans, and that’s what makes it so much fun here, honestly.”

But when Chris Eubanks — an American tennis player who is friends with Tiafoe and currently works for ESPN after losing in the first round on August 26 — wanted to finish the interview on court, Tiafoe grabbed the microphone and said, “Hold on a minute.”

“Tony Goldwyn was in the audience,” Tiafoe said, referring to the actor. “Yo, I’m a huge fan of yours, bro. My girl and I used to watch ‘Scandal’ all the time. I’m a huge fan, bro, I’m a huge fan, bro. I gotta say that.”

Now that Tiafoe has ticked that box, he is already looking ahead to the quarterfinals.

Tiafoe will face No. 9 Grigor Dimitrov of Bulgaria. Dimitrov, the oldest man left in the draw at 33, defeated No. 6 Andrey Rublev in the round of 16, beating the Russian 6-3, 7-6(3), 1-6, 3-6, 6-3 in three hours and 39 minutes.

Dimitrov, who reached the semi-finals of the US Open in 2019, has gone 3-1 against the 26-year-old Tiafoe in his career.

It was the first time that Tiafoe and Popyrin, who defeated Novak Djokovic in the third round, played each other.

Popyrin paid respect to Tiafoe, the No. 20 seed, and applauded his friend’s forehand winner on match point, before embracing at the net.

“It’s obviously a huge victory to beat Novak, at any time, at any time, anywhere,” Tiafoe told Popryin reporters. “I feel like Alexei had the level. He showed it tonight. It was really a very, very high level. So I had to come up with great things.”

Popyrin told reporters he thought Tiafoe “was the better player, no matter how close it was” and that the American “performed better in the more important aspects.”

“He plays scary tennis,” said Popyrin, 25. “If he continues like this, he has a very good chance.”

No American has won a Grand Slam singles title since Andy Roddick won the US Open in 2003.

At the 2022 US Open, Tiafoe gave fans hope that he could end the drought of U.S. men’s Grand Slam singles titles by shocking Rafael Nadal in the round of 16 and beating Rublev in the quarterfinals. His run ended in the semifinals, where he lost to eventual champion Carlos Alcaraz.

Tiafoe is one of two American men to have reached the quarterfinals of this year’s US Open so far. He is joined by No. 12 Taylor Fritz, who came from a set down to beat No. 8 Casper Ruud 3-6, 6-4, 6-3, 6-2 earlier on Sunday.

“I think in the past I was very, very excited and very happy to get to the quarterfinals of a Grand Slam,” said Fritz, 26, who advanced to his fifth Grand Slam quarterfinal of his career, including the US Open two years in a row.

“I think I’m at the point now where I’m still happy to get to the quarter-finals, but I wouldn’t be happy if it ended here. I’m definitely at the point where I really want more than that.”

Next up for Fritz is No. 4 Alex Zverev of Germany, who finished runner-up at the French Open this year and was runner-up at the 2020 US Open. On Sunday, Zverev defeated unseeded American Brandon Nakashima 3-6, 6-1, 6-2, 6-2.

At Wimbledon in the fourth round against Zverev, Fritz came back from two sets down to win in five. All time, Zverev is 5-4 against the American.

“We are in the quarterfinals of a Grand Slam stage. I think there will be no easy matches from now on,” Zverev said.

There is one American left in the other half of the schedule: No. 14 Tommy Paul will face world No. 1 Jannik Sinner in the fourth round on Monday.