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Taylor Fritz confident he can beat Jannik Sinner in US Open final

By TieBreakNewsPosted on
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Taylor Fritz defeated countryman Frances Tiafoe in the US Open semifinals, qualifying for his first career final in a Slam. He will be Jannik Sinner’s opponent in the men’s final scheduled for Sunday, September 8 at 2:00 pm, in New York.

In the post-match press conference, the American expressed his joy for having reached the final, talked about the pressure of having to play the semifinals against one of his countrymen and said he was confident in being able to beat the ATP no.1 in the final.

“I think a lot of it was just managing the moment and the pressure. He was playing at a really high level in the third and fourth sets. It was just about staying in the match and resisting the great pressure that he was putting on me from the baseline. It was a matter of trying to last as long as possible, holding my service game and hoping that at a certain point his errors would increase a little bit. In the end, the match went that way,” he said.

Taylor then analyzed the emotions he felt at the end of the match and what he was thinking at that moment.

“I’m a very emotional person when I’m happy. When I’m very happy, I cry for the happy endings of movies and maybe not for the sad things. That’s me. So yeah, I felt joy, the crowd was cheering and I realized I was in the final at the US Open. It’s a lifelong dream come true,” he explained.

Regarding the final against Sinner, the American said he was confident he could win the final and give great joy to his fans.

“I always enjoyed playing him. To be honest, I don’t think I’ll be in a more stressful situation playing the final than I was today. I just feel good. I have the feeling that I’m going to play well and win. When I play good tennis, I think the level is high enough to win. I think I’ve always played well against Jannik. I think we’re at 1-1. It’s been a while since we last played but he beat me in three sets in Indian Wells. He’s a very strong hitter, but I feel like I’ve always returned his shots well. I think I always play well against him,” he analyzed.

On why the semifinal with Tiafoie was more stressful than a final, Taylor said: “We were two Americans who wanted to go to the final. Each of us wanted to reach the final. I was 6-1 in head-to-heads. I didn’t come into this match thinking I was the favorite, because everything is different when you play matches like that. He played unbelievable the whole US Open, he played night sessions on Arthur Ashe in every match. I don’t think I’m the favorite, but it’s hard to come in with a score of 6-1, here you’re playing for the US Open final. Whoever wins, the American is going to play the final. It’s a stressful situation to be in.”

The match

In the first set there was a super start by Fritz, who immediately took a break ahead and flew 3-0. But the escape was short-lived because Tiafoe got going and strung together five consecutive games to take a 5-3 lead and then close 6-4. Frances who managed to find the right countermeasures in the return games. In the second set there was great balance: the score followed the serves until the sprint in which Taylor was good at closing the set 7-5. At the start of the third set, however, Fritz jammed and Tiafoe went ahead by a break. This game made the difference because Frances did not let himself be caught again and led, closing 6-4.

In the fourth set the serves made the difference again and there were no breaks until 5-4 for Fritz. Here is the turning point of the match. Tiafoe took a 40-15 lead with two break points for 5-5 but made four errors in a row with two double faults in the first two points. In the fifth set, Frances had a prolonged break, with Taylor taking advantage and going ahead by a break. Fritz broke his opponent’s serve again with a double fault from the Cincinnati finalist on the break point (4-0), gave up one of the two breaks of advantage but broke his opponent’s serve again and closed 6-1.