The last of the season Grand Slam In New York, the hosts were regular participants in the final until the turn of the century, but the last time an American played in the men’s singles final was in 2006, when Andy Roddick lost to Roger Federer. Two years ago, Tjafo came close to that goal, but lost to eventual champion Carlos Alcaraz in a tough five-set battle. Before this year’s tournament, the Floridian was not among the main favorites, but he skillfully used a favorable draw and the stumbles of his branch favorites on the way to the semifinals. Until now, the strongest competitor in the tournament, the Bulgarian Grigor Dimitrov, could not continue the fight due to a leg muscle injury with the result 6-3, 6-7 (5:7), 6-3, 4-1.
“I didn’t want the game to end like this, but it can help me before Friday, when it’s going to be a hell of a day. It’s going to be the biggest game of me and Taylor’s life,” Tjafo was already in the mood for the duel against Fritz. Fritz, seeded with number 12, has already played one “game of his life” in New York, defeating world number four Alexander Zverev in four sets 7-6 (7:2), 3-6, 6-4, 7-6 (7:3) . He has played four times before Grand Slam in the quarter-finals, but finally reached the semi-finals in front of their home crowd. “It really felt like this was my moment to step up. It just fit with what I do on the court and who I was in front of that crowd.”
For the first time Grand Slam Emma Navarro, who previously had not advanced beyond the first round in New York, also reached the semi-finals. On the way to that, she knocked off last year’s champion Corey Goff, but in the quarterfinals she beat New York-born Spaniard Paula Bados. The other semi-finalists were announced on Thursday night Latvian time.
2024-09-05 20:54:28