Twelfth-seeded Taylor Fritz secured his ticket to his first Grand Slam semi-final by beating fourth-seeded Alexander Zverev of Germany 7-6 (2), 3-6, 6-4, 7-6 (3) in New York on Tuesday.

The 26-year-old Californian has reached the quarterfinals of a Grand Slam four times since 2022 and has never reached the next round. On Tuesday, he won in front of an American crowd that supported him all the way.

“I feel great. I’ve watched a lot of quarterfinals over the years, but today felt different,” Fritz said in the on-court interview. “I felt like it was my time to step up, and it’s only fitting that I do it in front of this crowd.”

If No. 20 Frances Tiafoe beats No. 9 Grigor Dimitrov of Bulgaria in Tuesday’s other quarterfinal, it would set up an all-American semifinal with Fritz, giving an American man a chance to advance to the men’s final. No American man has won a Grand Slam singles title since Andy Roddick at the 2003 U.S. Open.

Zverev gave Fritz a tough test. The German had more winners (52 vs. 42), fewer unforced errors (42 vs. 48) and more aces (14 vs. 12). He also saved no less than 11 of 13 break points.

But Fritz overcame that by controlling the tiebreakers in the first and fourth sets. The players held their serve in both sets; Zverev saved triple set points in the 12th game of the first set to make it a 6-6 draw.

Fritz trailed 2-1 in the first-set tiebreaker, but scored six straight points to win the set. After Zverev won the first break point of the match in the second set, Fritz won the third set, while Zverev saved four more set points in the final game.

Fritz took a 4-1 lead in the tiebreak of the fourth set and never relinquished it.

He said in his on-field interview that he thinks it’s important to become more than just a player with a great serve.

“I’ve been working hard to add so much to my game,” Fritz said. “I feel like my forehand and backhand have always been there, but I’m trying to come to the net a little bit, trying to mix in some drop shots, just trying to add things to my game so I can support my serve better.”

Tiafoe reached the semifinals in New York in 2022 and the quarterfinals last year. Dimitrov is aiming for his fourth career Grand Slam semifinal and his second at the US Open (2019).

–Field Level Media