Friday's U.S. Open semifinal match between Francis Tiafoe and Taylor Fritz will be an all-American battle.
Fritz's match against the Big Four will mark the first time since 2005 that two Americans, instead of one, will appear in a Grand Slam semifinal.
Quarterfinals. Jason Senes/New York Post
Tiafoe and Fritz are from the same hometown and are close friends, but that friendship doesn't make them clones on and off the court.
They are not the same, they do not have the same game, and they cannot have completely different personalities.
Fritz's game is centered around his serve, and he's a power hitter who has worked hard to improve his movement.
Tiafoe is a skilled athlete who can turn the opponent's strength to his advantage.
They say that in boxing, style decides the fight, and this fight should be a pretty stylish one.
“Francis moves better, covers the court and is a better athlete,” former great John McEnroe told The Post. “Taylor is a better striker, one of the best ball-strikers I've seen in the last 10 years. He hits the ball unbelievably well.”
“So for me, the key will be for Taylor to dominate the points with his groundstrokes and then push it into the serve and allow Francis to run him and use his athleticism. That will be the key. And then finally, Francis needs to be more consistent than him and get a higher percentage of first serves.”
The differences are not just in their playing, but in their personalities too.
Big Foe is the bolder character. He is more boisterous and outgoing.
The son of Sierra Leonean immigrants — his father was a maintenance worker at the tennis center where he lived — Fritz is a laid-back Californian whose mother is a former Top 10 player and heir to the Macy's fortune.
“Personality-wise, you couldn't meet two more extreme people. He's obsessed with video games, never leaves his room, goofy. I can be loud and obnoxious sometimes,” Tiafoe said. “But he's so funny. He's got a dry humor and a sassiness, but that's why we like each other and get on so well. As competitors, we're similar. We hate to lose and we fight hard. But personality-wise, we're so different.”
“Taylor and I [Nos.] I was an American for a long time. I remember a few years ago, I was on an airplane. And he [a] He's a pretty introverted guy, and he was like, “I think you and I will be the one or two Americans that will take the lead,” and I thought, “Hey, man, it's 6 in the morning and I'm pretty tired, but let's give it a go. Why not?”
“Now it's great that we can compete against each other in such a big match. I'm happy for him to win and I think he's happy for me to win. Let's make sure the best player wins on Friday. It's going to be an epic match. Popcorn, do what you have to do. It's going to be a fun match on Friday.”
Fritz has a 6-1 head-to-head advantage over Tiafoe, winning their only Grand Slam match at the Australian Open in 2022. But it's a different story under the Ashe lights, where Tiafoe performs at his best.
“Ash's different. He's different,” Tiafoe said. “He's tough. He's a tough player. He plays great on both ends, he serves great, he's moving a lot better. It's going to be a tough match.”
A superior hard-court player, Fritz did not drop a set in his first three matches and then beat Kasper Ruud and Alexander Zverev in four sets, winning 81 percent of his first-serve points against the latter.
But now he has improved his return game and movement, highlighting his powerful serve and should find it easier to serve against Tiafoe, who has struggled in the series.
This could have the makings of an Andre Agassi vs. Pete Sampras type of rivalry in the United States.
“Back in the day, if Pete hit a great shot, Andre's fans would still show him love and vice versa, so I think that's going to happen. I hope that's going to happen. But I think the atmosphere is going to be great,” USTA player development GM Martin Blackman told The Post.
So who is Sampras and who is Agassi?
“Pete was more of an introvert, so Taylor's a little more introverted. And Andre's more extroverted. That's all I can say.”
