The match began on familiar ground. Fritz looked confident at the beginning and managed a break against Tiafoe’s first service game. But then the tide turned: Tiafoe managed a break and won his first set against Fritz in over two years, since Montreal 2022.
Many players complain that Arthur Ashe Stadium takes sides. At the beginning, the crowd was on Tiafoe’s side. That’s no surprise, because he’s both a charming personality and someone who knows how to energize a crowd. Many of Fritz’s rowdy fans — who were never more creative than chanting “Let’s go, Taylor” — were men dressed in pastel colors with faces pink from Honey Deuces. But as is often the case at Ashe Stadium, Tiafoe’s early lead gave the crowd even more reason to cheer for Fritz. He had entered the game as the favorite, but now, down a set, he was the underdog.
The second set consisted mostly of quick and comfortable shots, an admission that this was going to be a long battle. Almost all of the previous matches ended in straight sets against Fritz; when Tiafoe won the first, it was a sign that tonight would be different. When he wins a good point, Tiafoe switches his racquet to his left hand so he can shake his right hand fist. That night, Tiafoe was shaking his fist a lot. The crowd loved it.
Ashe’s energy increased at the end of the second set, which Fritz eventually won. After two hours, Tiafoe led 2-1. When was the last time Tiafoe took two sets from Fritz? In their first meeting at Indian Wells in 2016 – the only time Tiafoe has won.
In the fourth set, the level of play continued to rise. In a long rally, Tiafoe used his entire arsenal: heavy topspin forehands, sudden fast cross-court backhands, a well-camouflaged slice as an encore. The change of pace did not unsettle Fritz; he remained stable and won the 31-stroke rally, outlasting Tiafoe and hitting the winning shot.
After Fritz won the fourth set, I was reminded of how different the two players’ body types are. Fritz is tall and lanky, and gets his strength from the tension of his long torso; Tiafoe, perhaps the most muscular player on tour, gets his strength from his biceps. Even their jerseys were contrasting: Fritz wore a black and white outfit by Boss and a headband reminiscent of Cobra Kai and a Chipotle patch on his sleeve; Tiafoe in his purple Nike outfit, which he constantly changed so that a messy pile of sweat-soaked tank tops lay next to his bench.
There was a time when all American men were built the same: extremely tall, extremely pale, and capable only of serving. Guys like John Isner and Sam Querrey and more recently Riley Opelka. They could barely move on the court, which gave the U.S. a reputation for producing “servebots.” Even a casual tennis spectator could understand that these guys were no fun to watch.
Friday showed how far U.S. men’s tennis has come. Perhaps Fritz-Tiafoe didn’t reach the heights of the U.S. Open battles between Pete Sampras and Michael Chang – once the two top-ranked players in the world. But here was a duel between two extremely different players, both just one set away from reaching the final match of the final major of the year. Even my apathy toward national pride melted away a little as I watched Fritz and Tiafoe make it to the fifth set.
