Home hopeful Taylor Fritz reached his first ever grand slam semi-final at the US Open, beating world number four Alexander Zverev in four sets at Flushing Meadows. (More Sports News)
Fritz, who had lost his previous four grand slam quarter-finals, came through tie-breaks in the first and fourth set to emerge a 7-6 (7-2) 3-6 6-4 7-6 (7-3) victor.
Both players traded blows in the opening set, with Fritz squandering the opportunity to take the opener in the 12th game after missing three set points, only to go on and win the tie-break.
Zverev continued to match his American opponent stride for stride, but struck the decisive blow in the second set with a break point in the eighth game to level the encounter.
But backed by a raucous crowd inside the Flushing Meadows, Fritz raced into a 3-0 lead in the third and despite Zverev finding a break of his own, he was unable to stop the world number 12 going within touching distance of victory.
With the atmosphere intensifying, a second tie-break of the game would decide whether the ecnounter went the distance, with Zverev pulling the final ball wide to claim a famous win for Fritz at Arthur Ashe Stadium.
Fritz could play fellow American Frances Tiafoe for a place in a first grand slam final, with Tiafoe squaring off against Grigor Dimitrov in Tuesday's night session.
Data Debrief: Fritz hits the heights
Defeating Zverev at the age of 26y 310d, Fritz has become the oldest American in the Open Era to reach their maiden men's singles SF at the US Open.
It was the 12th-seeded Fritz's fourth win over an ATP top-10 player in a major this season, the most by an American man in one year since Andre Agassi had five in 1999.
