Fans of the Netflix documentary “Break Point” know Taylor Fritz and Frances Tiafoe grew up battling each other on the court, are good friends off it and that both desperately want the title of the top American men’s tennis player of this generation.
One of the 26-year-olds will earn a distinct advantage in that debate when the 12th-seeded Fritz and 20th-seeded Tiafoe take the court in primetime for the second semifinal at the U.S. Open on Friday night.
It is the first career Grand Slam semifinal for Fritz, who does have eight career singles titles. Tiafoe, who has three career singles titles, lost an epic five-set semifinal to eventual champion Carlos Alcaraz two years ago.
Fritz is coming off the biggest victory of his career, upsetting No. 4 seed Alexander Zverev in four sets after knocking off eighth-seeded Casper Ruud in the fourth round. He enters his first career major semifinal as a -275 favorite.
Tiafoe (+210) has had an easier road to Friday night’s clash at 7 p.m. ET in Arthur Ashe Stadium by comparison. Two of his first five opponents retired, including No. 9 seed Grigor Dimitrov, who was trailing 6-3, 6-7 (5), 6-3, 4-1 when he had to quit.
He might be the underdog, but “Big Foe” cannot be discounted under the lights in what promises to be a raucous atmosphere.
“Ultimately, you guys get to see me again, against another American, so Friday is going to be one hell of a day,” Tiafoe told the crowd after his quarterfinal match.
Whoever emerges victorious Friday will leave the U.S. Open with the coveted title as the top-ranked American male tennis player. He will also be the first American man to reach a Grand Slam final since Andy Roddick at Wimbledon 15 years ago.
The last American to reach the men’s singles final at Flushing Meadows was Roddick in 2006, when he dropped a four-set match to Roger Federer.
“Taylor and I had a conversation about being No. 1, No. 2 Americans for a very long time,” Tiafoe said. “I remember we were sitting on a plane some years ago, and he’s a pretty to-himself kind of dude, and he’s, like, ‘Bro, I think me and you are going to be one, two Americans and leading the way.'”
Fritz owns a 6-1 career record against Tiafoe in ATP matches.
“It’s different on Ashe, man,” said Tiafoe. “It’s different. Obviously you have to learn from those (defeats). I mean, couple of those I thought I actually should have won.
“He’s tough, man. He’s a tough player. He plays great from both sides, has a great serve, he’s moving much better now. It’s going to be tough.”
Becoming the first American to win the men’s U.S. Open title since Roddick in 2003 will likely prove even more challenging.
That’s because No. 1-ranked Jannik Sinner is a massive -650 favorite in Friday’s first semifinal against 25th-seeded Jack Draper (+475).
Sinner is in his first career U.S. Open semifinal, but the Italian did claim his first major title at this year’s Australian Open. He also reached the semifinals at the French Open and Wimbledon and owns 15 career singles titles.
Sinner has dropped only two sets en route to Friday’s semifinal, and has knocked off No. 5 seed Daniil Medvedev and No. 14 Tommy Paul in his past two matches.
The 22-year-old Draper is in his first career semifinal of any Grand Slam event, and won his first career ATP title earlier this year at the BOSS Open in Stuttgart.
However, the oft-injured Brit has been dominant at this year’s U.S. Open, not dropping a set through his first five matches. That includes a straight-sets win over No. 10 seed Alex De Minaur in the quarterfinals.
“This is a privilege, and this is an honor to be in this position,” Draper said. “This is why I work so hard, so I’ve got to just keep it going in my stride. I’m not afraid of being in these positions.”
The left-handed Draper is looking to become Britain’s first men’s singles U.S. Open finalist since Andy Murray won in 2012.
U.S. OPEN MEN’S TITLE ODDS
Jannik Sinner (-230)
Taylor Fritz (+350)
Jack Draper (+700)
Frances Tiafoe (+800)
Sinner opened the tournament at +350 to claim his first U.S. Open singles trophy. Those odds have shortened significantly with Carlos Alcaraz and Novak Djokovic bowing out before Fritz also eliminated Zverev.
He’s now the heavy favorite at -230, followed by Fritz, who began the tournament as a +5000 longshot. That was still well ahead of where Tiafoe (+8000) and Draper (+13000) began the event.
BetMGM reported that Sinner is the book’s biggest men’s title liability, as he leads the draw with 40.9 percent of the money wagered so far backing him to win. Tiafoe is the second-biggest liability, having drawn 5.0 percent of the money since opening at +4000.
–Field Level Media
