When a huge opportunity to finally reach his first Grand Slam semi-final presented itself, Taylor Fritz did not let it slip away. He threw himself to the baseline, desperately trying to seize the initiative and impose his weapons on the match. Even as he made unforced errors on crucial break points and gave his opponent Alexander Zverev the chance to take the lead, Fritz was determined to control his destiny until the end.

Fritz, the top-ranked player in the United States, was rewarded for his bravery when he reached a Grand Slam semifinal on home soil for the first time in his career at the US Open, defeating fourth-seeded Zverev 7-6 (2), 3-6, 6-4, 7-6 (3) at Arthur Ashe Stadium.

In a remarkable tournament that was wide open after the early exits of Novak Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz, leaving the rest of the tour scrambling to take advantage, this was a particularly remarkable encounter. Zverev and Fritz were born just six months apart in 1997 and both reached No. 1 in the junior rankings, moving onto the professional tour as two of the most hyped players of their generation.

While Zverev broke through quickly, Fritz took some time to catch up. When Zverev won his first Masters 1000 title in 2017, he was still ranked outside the top 100 and it took the 26-year-old another five years to break into the top 20.

Although Fritz has an excellent first serve and solid ground clearance, he is far from a natural talent like Zverev. He had to work tirelessly to find ways to be effective in other ways. He learned to control the baseline better and better with his forehand, steadily improved his movements over a long period of time and learned to fight in the tight moments. Even after reaching the top 10, Fritz took even longer to be effective at Grand Slam tournaments. In his third Grand Slam quarterfinal of the year, he took another step forward in his development.

For Zverev, however, this match was the epitome of his difficulties on the court. Zverev can look back on an extremely successful career, winning six Masters 1000 titles, the ATP Finals, an Olympic gold medal and reaching two Grand Slam finals.

Although his successes suggest he should win Grand Slam titles, Zverev’s head has often failed him in the most important moments of his career. Despite hitting more winners than Fritz throughout the match, 52 in total, Zverev ducked in the most important moments, retreating far behind the baseline and hoping for misses that never came.

Each year, the state of American men’s tennis is one of the most pressing issues at the US Open. The shadow of Andy Roddick’s 2003 triumph – the last Grand Slam title won by an American – and the long history of exceptional American tennis players loom over the draws. But in recent years, the narrative has changed, as this generation of American tennis players has enjoyed modest success.

Going into the US Open, there were five US male players in the top 20 – Fritz, Ben Shelton, Tommy Paul, Sebastian Korda and Frances Tiafoe. While none of them have had a truly spectacular performance yet, they have continued to improve and many of them are entering their prime at just the right time as the tour enters the post-Big Three era.

Instead of facing a multiple Grand Slam titleholder with years of experience, Fritz will face either ninth-seeded Grigor Dimitrov or fellow 20th-seeded Tiafoe, who will battle it out overnight for the title. Regardless of the outcome, there will be a Grand Slam finalist making his first appearance in the final in New York this year.

Meanwhile, Emma Navarro continued her breakthrough in her native New York. The 23-year-old followed up her win over Coco Gauff by defeating another former top-2 player, Paula Badosa, 6-2, 7-5 to reach a Grand Slam semifinal for the first time in her career.