Frances Tiafoe suffered yet another heartbreaking loss as he succumbed to fellow American Taylor Fritz for the seventh time in a row in an intense US Open 2024 semifinal.
Even though Fritz was up in the match, Tiafoe was unable to maintain his lead, which gave Fritz the opportunity to rally and advance to face world No. 1 Jannik Sinner in the championship match.
On this cool Friday evening at Arthur Ashe Stadium, the historic race to become the first American to play in a US Open final in eighteen years was coming down to the finish line, with Frances Tiafoe leading Taylor Fritz by the equivalent of a single car length.
However, Tiafoe’s engine stalled, coughed, trembled, and ran out of petrol after three and a half sets. Fritz defeated his close adversary and even closer buddy in three hours and eighteen minutes over the course of five sets (4-6, 7-5, 4-6, 6-4, 6-1), earning his spot in the historic final on Sunday against No. 1 ranked Jannik Sinner.
This was a devastating defeat for Tiafoe, who trailed 0-3 early on but then applied the gas and won five straight games as night shift fans gradually filled the massive venue to capacity (23,771). As they took their seats, Tiafoe had already established himself and, rather unexpectedly, was trading explosive serves with Fritz. He was also able to surprise Fritz by using his unconventional forehand and his signature short-backswing, flat-trajectory two-handed backhands to pull him around the court.
Fritz remarked on the court just after the game, “He was overwhelming me from the baseline so much, he was taking the ball and changing lines so well.” “I just told myself to keep fighting, hold my serve, and exert as much pressure as I could on the scoreboard.” I promised myself that I would live to regret it if I didn’t give it everything I had and persevere in the hopes that his level might drop a little.
Rather, it is Tiafoe who must swallow the unpleasant pill. “It’s tough,” he stated in his post-match interview. It’s quite difficult. incredibly difficult to swallow. This one is going to hurt like crazy. To be honest, I felt like I played a better game tonight. I’m not sure about the fourth one… My body seemed to simply suddenly shut down on me.
The 26-year-old right-hander has established a well-respected, mutually beneficial relationship with the New York crowd over the last few years. Ashe plays relatively quickly on a hard court, which is ideal for his style of play.
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However, there are deeper and more nuanced ties that underlie Tiafoe and the Big Apple’s romantic relationship. Nothing is more beloved by New Yorkers than the kind of amazing, come-from-nothing background that Tiafoe has had. Even though Tiafoe is from Maryland, he embodies the city’s multi-cultural, gritty, and real spirit; the energy between them jumps and buzzes like arcing electricity.
It’s at Flushing Meadow that Tiafoe plays his most brilliant, inspired tennis. He is now placing all of his eggs in the New York basket at this moment. And there’s the catch.
The winner, Grigor Dimitrov, stated that he was “not happening” to be thrilled to play in Madrid or anywhere other than Wimbledon, Washington, D.C., and the US Open after the Serbian player quit from his quarterfinal match against Tiafoe due to injury. “It’s almost a joke that Frances wakes up in August,” he said in further detail.
The joke may have lost its humorous effect on Tiafoe when Fritz prevailed in a 31-shot exchange at 3-all during the fourth set. By the time Fritz prevailed in that match and recorded two service breaks in the fifth, Tiafoe had “hit some kind of a wall,” according to ESPN’s John McEnroe. The guy that was there for the first two hours is not the same one. There is a terrible problem.
That something could have been a general deficiency of endurance. Tiafoe, who lost to rising sensation and fellow countryman Ben Shelton here in the quarterfinal of last year, has admitted that he struggled to regain his competitive spirit.
Tiafoe was 15-16 in losses prior to the hard court season in North America. He was hurting from standing on the water for so long. “This defeat might be an indication of how many (best-of-five) games I’ve played in a brief period of time,” he remarked. “And I haven’t participated in that many games this year.”
Tiafoe is going to learn a lot from this. The manner he ran out of gas serves as another reminder of the significant differences between best-of-five tennis matches and the magnificence of Grand Slam tennis. The commitment is for a year—a career—rather than for two weeks.
“You know, this is going to hurt and all that for a very, really long period. This is going to hurt, but I’m going to grow from it. I’m going to strive to finish the year strong and flip the page. I’m going to travel to Asia, complete the task at hand, do it correctly, and not cut corners. Without a doubt, I’ll be in these roles once more. merely wishing for an alternative result.
New York may love Tiafoe, and Tiafoe loves New York back. It is, however, tough love.