AAs Taylor Fritz and Frances Tiafoe battled for five sets in a historic all-American semifinal duel on Friday night to decide who would secure the biggest opportunity of their career, Andy Roddick, a towering figure in US tennis, watched the action from one of the hospitality boxes scattered throughout Arthur Ashe Stadium.

It has been 21 years since Roddick won the US Open on the same court, defeating Juan Carlos Ferrero in the final. His victory then seemed the perfect moment to pass the torch to a new era of US players, as the careers of Pete Sampras and Andre Agassi, who won the US Open and Australian Open respectively the previous year, were coming to an end.

Instead, the 2003 US Open marked an abrupt end to American men’s dominance in tennis, as better and more talented players moved to the top of the pecking order. It was Roddick’s only Grand Slam title and remained an unrivalled achievement for his future compatriots. After narrowly edging out Tiafoe, Fritz will now finally look to end two decades of misery in the men’s US Open when he faces world No. 1 Jannik Sinner in his first Grand Slam final on Sunday.

In some ways, it feels like Fritz has been groomed for this very moment by everyone around him. He is the son of former top-10 player and US Open quarterfinalist Kathy May, while his father and uncle were also professional tennis players.

Fritz’s pedigree proved a helpful springboard for his early success. He had a stellar junior career, rising to the No. 1 ranking and becoming one of U.S. tennis’s next great hopes in a generation of talented young U.S. players that also included Tiafoe, Tommy Paul and Reilly Opelka.

But his rise on the professional tour has been gradual rather than inevitable. The 26-year-old, who turned professional in 2015, spent a long time finding his game and gaining confidence before reaching the top 20 for the first time in 2022. Until last year’s US Open, despite already reaching the top 10, he had only one Grand Slam quarterfinal to his name.

There are many faster, stronger and more impressive pure athletes on the ATP tour than Fritz, and it has taken some time for him to complement his superb serve with a balanced game good enough to compete with the best. To bridge some of those physical gaps between himself and his opponents, Fritz has had to draw on his competitive instincts, his ability to fight to the death and rise to the occasion in the moments that matter rather than shy away from them.

In addition to a top-5 ranking, a Masters 1000 title at Indian Wells in 2022 and the distinction of being the most successful American tennis player of his generation to date, Fritz’s mental strength has continually driven him forward.

But Fritz will face one of the sport’s biggest challenges in the final. Sinner hasn’t exactly played his best tennis in New York this year. While he’s not in the ruthlessly efficient form he showed en route to his Australian Open title, he has won 54 matches and lost just five this year, and his hard court record now stands at 34-2 in 2024.

Sinner’s 15-1 tiebreak record since June also reflects his current mindset: Every time he steps on court, he expects to play his best tennis in the moments that matter and win. On Sunday afternoon, when he goes hunting for history in front of a raucous home crowd, Fritz will face the challenge of outdoing the best player in the world.