Taylor Fritz outlasts Frances Tiafoe in thriller to reach US Open final

Taylor Fritz is going to the U.S. Open final.

And he had to flip the script to do it, running Frances Tiafoe into the ground.

In an All-American semifinal in Flushing Meadows, a huge night for the sport in this country, Fritz stormed back for a 4-6, 7-5, 4-6, 6-4, 6-1 victory.

The laconic Fritz let out a guttural roar in celebration.

“It’s the reason why I do what I do. It’s the reason why I work so hard. … I’m in the finals of the U.S. Open,” an emotional Fritz said in an on-court TV interview. “It’s a dream come true. I’m in the finals. I’m going to come out and give everything I have.

“I’m going to give it everything I possibly can.”

Fritz was supposed to be the hitter and Tiafoe the runner.

But in a game with more long rallies than a presidential campaign, it was a 31-shot slugfest in the fourth set that visibly took the legs from Tiafoe.

And without his greatest weapon, Fritz was merciless in taking advantage.

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“He was overwhelming me from the baseline. He was taking the ball so early, really overwhelming me. I just told myself to stay in it, fight to hold my serve,” Fritz said. “I told myself if I didn’t give it everything I had — see if his level dropped a little bit — I was gonna regret it for a long time.”

It didn’t just drop. It fell off a cliff.

Fritz — who’d been 0-4 in Grand Slam quarterfinals coming into this week — became the first American man in a major final since Andy Roddick in 2009, a string of 59 straight. It’ll be the first in Flushing Meadows since 2006.

Fittingly, it came with Andy Roddick — the last U.S. man to win, back in 2003 — looking on from the suites.

Now Fritz has a chance to finally end that drought Sunday at Arthur Ashe Stadium against top-seeded Jannik Sinner .

In what was the first All-American semifinal since 2005, the friends and compatriots were different in many ways, in their games and in their backgrounds.

Tiafoe is the high-energy, uber-athletic son of Sierra Leonean immigrants, who at times slept in the tennis center his father served as a maintenance worker.

Fritz is the laid-back, hard-hitting son of two tennis pros, his mother a former top-10 player and one of the heirs to the Macy’s fortune.

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But with five American men in the top 20 now, the two friends are leading a rebirth.

But it was a galling ending for Tiafoe.

He fell to 7-14 in fifth sets. And 1-7 against Fritz on the tour, having dropped the last seven straight.

Fritz hasn’t lost to Tiafoe since their first meeting, way back in 2016 at Indian Wells.

And that belief kept him going Friday.

Fritz broke early when Tiafoe spiked a return into the net, and took a quick 3-0 lead out of the gate.

But Tiafoe found his footing to take the next five games.

Tiafoe broke on a 16-shot rally to go up 4-3.

Then, after Fritz opened the next game by winning an 18-shot rally, Tiafoe managed to hold for a 5-3 lead.

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Fritz finally held with the help of a ball that grazed off the net, but Tiafoe eventually held to take the first set 6-4.

At one juncture in the second, Tiafoe won 18 straight points on his serve.

The point of the match sent Tiafoe sailing into the photographer’s well and Fritz to set point.

Tiafoe served his way out of trouble temporarily but not permanently, Fritz breaking at love to take the set, 7-5.

The latter took 23 straight points on his serve, and five straight love games on his serve.

But Tiafoe bounced back to take the third set, 6-4.

Fritz went up 4-3 on serve in the fourth, holding thanks to winning a 31-shot rally.

That seemed to take something out of Tiafoe, who ran out of gas.

Tiafoe had three double-faults in his next two service games, and Fritz got the first break of the set in the 10th game, winning 6-4 to even the match.

Fritz won 11 straight points, holding to open the set and going up 40-0 on Tiafoe’s serve before eventually getting the break.

And Tiafoe, who was 20 of 31 on his second serve in both the third and fourth sets, was 0-for-9 in the fifth.

It was a collapse for Tiafoe. And a coronation for Fritz.

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