By Chris Oddo | @TheFanChild | Thursday September 6, 2024

New York—And then there were four – and two of them were American. The men’s semifinals are set for Friday at the US Open, with top-seeded Jannik Sinner taking on Jack Draper in the first battle, and Frances Tiafoe facing Taylor Fritz in an all-America nightcap in Arthur Ashe Stadium.



We will definitely have the first American US Open men’s singles finalist since 2006, but who will it be? And who will that American face? Read on for more…

Sinner vs Draper
Head-to-Head: Draper leads 1-0
Key Stat: Draper is the only men’s semifinalist that has yet to drop a set in New York.

Key Stat # 2: Sinner is 33-2 on hard courts in 2024, and he has won all 12 of his Grand Slam matches on the surface this year.

The Matchup

Jannik Sinner and Jack Draper have developed a good friendship on tour, and keep in touch as they travel the tour together. On Friday they would need to pull out their phones to see what the other is up to – they’ll be across the net on Ashe, bidding for a maiden US Open final.

Draper has played phenomenal tennis in New York, winning every set he has played to become the first British man to reach the semifinals at the Open since Andy Murray in 2012. The left-hander with the menacing forehand is believing in his fitness – and his game – more than ever and it shows in his results.

He’ll have his hands full with the top-seeded Italian, but he will remember defeating Sinner just over three years ago, at Queen’s Club. A great win, but it came before Sinner completed his rise to the top of the men’s game. And, it came on grass.

Sinner is now firmly rooted as the ATP’s No.1 player, and on the hard courts, particularly fast-playing hard courts, he is the man to beat.

He came through Daniil Medvedev in style on Wednesday nigh and looks ready to finish off a title run this weekend in New York.

To beat him Draper will have to not only play brilliantly. He’ll also have to match Sinner’s physicality. The Italian has much more experience deep in Slams, and Draper is into his first major semifinal at a major. But here in New York, he hasn’t expended much energy in getting through five rounds. He did have an issue with his thigh during his win over Alex de Minaur on Wednesday, but it looks to be a minor one.

Draper has held serve at a higher rate than any other player at the Open, and if he can do that on Friday he’ll have chances to win every set. Sinner will have to be patient and wait for his opportunities, and when he gets them he’ll need to exploit his shotmaking advantages and grind away at Draper’s confidence.



What they’re saying:

Sinner on Draper, and the friendship: “We know each other quite well. It was nice to share the court with him in doubles in Montreal. We got to know each other even more. You know, we text each other when we have good or bad times, you know, trying to keep us up. It's a great friendship. Obviously we try to put this away for the hours we are on court. I think that's quite obvious. But, you know, it's whenever we shake our hands, it's again friendship back and all is going to be good.

“It's going to be a tough match. He hasn't lost one set yet. He's playing great. He's serving great. I saw also the match today, he's hitting very, very strong. So it's going to be tough match but I'm looking forward to it and hopefully it's going to be a good match.”

Sinner on getting through pre-tournament controversy: “I have my team and my people who are close to me. You know, they know me, they know I always stick with the people who know me and believe me. It's a very important part. And obviously, I'm very happy to have them, you know, coach-wise and also off the court.

“In the beginning was a bit, was a tough situation, but, you know, day by day it went better. So yeah, I'm happy about that. Let's see now in the semis what I can do.”

Draper on what he has improved in his game: “I feel like my tennis feels really flowing and I feel like I'm not using too much energy when I'm playing the points. By playing more aggressive tennis, I thought that maybe I had to force it all the time and use up so much energy doing it. But instead I think when we watch the best players in the world, one thing they do is they do everything pretty effortlessly and they do it within themselves and they do things with such good efficiency.

“I think I'm sort of been working physically really hard, and I think that's helping me to sort of maybe be more efficient and conserve energy. I feel really strong out there, so that's something that's really improved for me.”



Tiafoe vs Fritz

Head-to-Head: Fritz leads 6-1

Key Stat: Friday’s battle will be the first All-American men’s semifinal at the US Open since 2003.

The Matchup

Finally! The American men have produced a men’s singles Grand Slam finalist for the first time since 2009, and since 2006 at the US Open. Now all we need to do is see who it is – Frances Tiafoe or Taylor Fritz.

Tiafoe and Fritz have met seven times on tour, with Tiafoe taking the first one and Fritz taking the last six. But as Tiafoe said so eloquently on Tuesday night after he defeated Grigor Dimitrov to reach his second US Open semifinal in three years: “It’s different on Ashe.”

Tiafoe won’t have the crowd in his corner as much as he normally does on Ashe, due to the fat that he’s facing a compatriot, but he’ll look to get the fans fired up with his dazzling array of shotmaking and his ability to let the fans into his emotions. Fritz keeps it closer to the vest on court, but he’ll have his share of the support regardless.

Tactically, Tiafoe must serve better than he did against Dimitrov. He only made 50 perdent of is first serves in that quarterfinal, and was behind in many of his service games. And in-form Fritz won’t let him off the hook in those situations.

Fritz will have to stick to his gameplan and play serve-plus-one tennis. He has the booming ground game and will need to be consistent to keep the speedy, athletic Tiafoe from stealing points.

Clearly the matchup works for Fritz, who will be playing his first major semifinal, but can he keep his domination over Tiafoe in the arena in which Big Foe thrives the most?



What they’re saying:

Tiafoe on Fritz: “When I first met him, Taylor was an odd cat, different cat. I mean, I definitely wasn't thinking he was going to do what he's done. He's changed his body unbelievably. He's just really talented. He was a part-time player, he played couple times of week, had a court at his house. He'll tell you, he went to normal high school. He was just a normal kid. While we're out there grinding. Then he started putting more time into it.

“He was funny, man, when we were younger. I think as we got closer to it, seeing how committed he is and how much he wanted it, once we all kind of turned pro, we all just pushed each other to want to be great. You know, sometimes unspoken; sometimes you speak about it. But, yeah, nobody wants to leave each other behind. It's been a special thing to be a part of.”

Tiafoe on facing Fritz in Ashe: “It's different on Ashe, man. It's different. Obviously you have to learn from those [previous losses to Fritz]. 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.

“It's going to be a big one for both of us, playing for a final. I don't think those matches are anywhere near what this match would be, so it's kind of tough to even go from there. Playing quarters of Acapulco 500 and playing semis at Arthur Ashe at night it's a little different. It's a little different.”

Fritz on staying level headed: “The emotional level is down. It's cool I'm in the semis. But I very much have the mindset of, you know, the job's not done, and I keep taking it one match at a time like I've been all tournament and focus on the next match ahead of me..”