Frances Tiafoe vs. Taylor Fritz: “Epic” tennis duel of extremes leaves the USA buzzing

The end of botch-upness
“Epic” tennis duel of extremes leaves the USA buzzing

05.09.2024, 09:35

US tennis players have been waiting for a big win at a Grand Slam tournament for what seems like an eternity. Frances Tiafoe and Taylor Fritz want to banish the “ghosts” of the past at the US Open – in a semi-final of very different characters.

Frances Tiafoe made a big promise to the cheering fans. “It’s going to be epic. Friday is going to be a hell of a day,” the crowd favorite shouted to the spectators in Arthur Ashe Stadium at the US Open. A day that American tennis players have been waiting for for a very long time.

Tiafoe and Alexander Zverev’s conqueror Taylor Fritz will meet in a US duel for a place in the final of the Grand Slam tournament in New York. “A semifinal for the ages,” as Sports Illustrated proclaimed, describing the dilemma of the recent past: “A decades-long streak of incompetence in American men’s tennis will finally be broken this year.”

This is how long the US players have been waiting for the big triumph

The women, including superstars like Serena and Venus Williams and Coco Gauff, celebrated title after title, and now Emma Navarro and Jessica Pegula have at least made it to the semi-finals. But in the men’s competition, Andy Roddick was the last to reach a Grand Slam final 15 years ago at Wimbledon. And the 42-year-old was the last American tennis player to win a title at one of the four major tournaments in New York in 2003.

Since then, the US men have been waiting for the triumph and are constantly being compared to former greats such as Roddick and the even more successful Pete Sampras and Andre Agassi. “I want this to finally stop,” said Roddick before the semi-final in response to the eternal questions to the current generation about the past. “I hate it. I want them to win it. And if someone wins it, then they can do it regularly. Then they won’t have to play against ghosts anymore.”

Since the beginning of their careers, Fritz and Tiafoe have been haunted by these ghosts of the past. The two 26-year-olds share their fate with Tommy Paul (27), Sebastian Korda (24) and Ben Shelton (21), who are also currently in the top 20 in the world rankings. “We have always shared the pressure,” said Fritz. “We are four or five guys who are all incredible players. It’s great because we all push each other and make each other better.”

“Video game guy” versus “loud” and “obnoxious”

This year, Fritz or Tiafoe could be the perfect match – two opposite types will meet before the final on Sunday. “You can’t find any greater extremes in terms of personalities,” said Tiafoe, describing himself and Fritz. “He’s a video game guy, never leaves the room. I’m loud and sometimes unbearable. Because we’re so different, we get along so well.” Both have known each other since they were children, playing against each other in youth tournaments. But their paths to tennis could hardly have been more different.

Tiafoe grew up in very simple circumstances as the son of immigrants from Sierra Leone. His father Constant worked as a janitor in a junior tennis center, and Frances often slept on a massage table there. As he hit the ball against a wall by himself, he imagined playing against Roger Federer at the US Open. He was turned down for his dream of becoming a tennis professional. He didn’t have enough money. His first coach paid for his playing equipment and the fee for his first youth tournament.

Instead, Fritz’s career was shaped by his family. His mother Kathy May was among the top ten in the world, and his father Guy was also a tennis professional and later a coach. Both were predicted to have great careers as youngsters. And so Fritz had an early premonition of what was to come on Friday. On a flight a few years ago, the Californian leaned over to him, Tiafoe reported. “Brother, I think you and I will be the Americans number one and two and show the way,” he recalls Fritz’s words before the semifinal. “I told him: ‘Boy, it’s six in the morning, I’m pretty tired – but let’s do it.'”