Showdown in New York: Doping discussion or American Dream

It was not a nightly revival show, no fade-in from good old days of US men’s tennis.

Two local heroes in the semifinals in the full Arthur Ashe Stadiumthe largest stadium in the world. Taylor Fritz and Frances Tiafoe played in the night session like Pete Sampras and Andre Agassi once did – and high-class, dramatic tennis. In the end, Fritz won 4:6, 7:5, 4:6, 6:4, 6:1 and will face the top-seeded Italian in the final on Sunday Jannik Sinner (8 p.m. CEST, Puls 4, Joyn, Sky), who had previously made his opponent Jack Draper vomit several times during the three-set victory.

But Mr. Fritz won’t care about any of that. “That’s the reason why I do this, why I play tennis,” said Fritz tearfully after the match. “A dream is coming true. I’ll give everything I can.”

At the net, Fritz patted his US colleague on the chest after the match point and tried to cheer up Tiafoe. “He overwhelmed me from the baseline. “I just tried to fight,” said Fritz. Tiafoe had already His first US Open semi-final in 2022 lost against Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz in five sets.

After the elimination of Novak Djokovic, Carlos Alcaraz and Alexander Zverev, the Italian Sinner seems to have a clear path to second triumph at one of the four Grand Slam tournaments.

Anxious minutes

The additional burden surrounding his controversial Doping acquittal Did Sinner hold out, but before the final another question arose. During his 7:5-7:6-6:2 victory against the Briton Jack Draper, Sinner supported himself with his left wrist during a fall and sustained an injury. “I’m relaxed about it, because if it’s something bad, you immediately feel it more strongly,” said Sinner, who is obviously facing an away game. The direct duel is 1:1 before the showdown.

Regardless of the outcome, Sinner remains ahead of German Alexander Zverev in the rankings in front. Fritz can count on a title on Sixth place advance, but is definitely seventh.