This was technicolor tennis that leapt out of the screen, grabbed you by the throat and won your heart.
Even in the open air on Friday, this feel-good match at Ashe created a wall of emotion that provided the perfect soundtrack for this Stars and Stripes U.S. Open semifinal that won't soon be forgotten.
For more than a decade, the two 26-year-old Americans, friends since their adolescence, have been in a testing ground, or perhaps it would be better to say they have been in a ring, a squared circle with dimensions 78 x 27.
Francis Tiafoe and Taylor Fritz were gladiators, entertainers and elite tennis players who put on a show in Queens, operating under the weight of history as each competitor fought to reach the first Grand Slam final of their careers.
It's not winner-take-all, but he got a chance to do so after beating Jack Draper 7-5, 7-6 (3), 6-2 in the semifinals to set up a match against top-seeded and world No. 1 Jannik Sinner in Sunday's final.
And so it was that Fritz, who rallied after nearly two hours of trailing by winning 4-6, 7-5, 4-6, 6-4, 6-1 to become the first American to achieve this feat and to have “2009” etched into the brains of Yankees fans, would go on to face the Italian.
So, more than 20 years later, the summary is this:
Fritz, ranked 12th in the world, will become the first American-born player to reach a Grand Slam final since Andy Roddick lost 16-14 in a fifth-set tiebreak to Roger Federer at Wimbledon in 2009.
If he does so, Fritz will become the first American to reach a British Open final since Andy Roddick lost to Federer in 2006.
If he does so, Fritz will have a chance to become the first American to win a Grand Slam title since Roddick did so here in Queens in 2003.
There are many things happening for the first time.
The red, white and blue semifinal showdown was once a British Open tradition, and this was the 17th such incestuous affair since Andre Agassi beat Robby Ginepri in five sets in 2005.
Has anyone heard the word “pickleball” in the last two weeks?
I didn't think so.
On this night, and throughout the tournament, the Big Three were history in another sense, just like the men and women whose plaques hang in the Champions Walkway. On this night, and throughout the tournament, the Open did not miss them. Everyone's time comes, even if it takes 20 years.
“I think it definitely opens up the door and players start believing they can go far in Grand Slams,” said a traumatized Tiafoe. “Fritz got to the final. No young player has done that.”
“We'll see what happens on Sunday, but I think a lot of players will feel they can do it, especially this late in the season, with the American crowd and all that.
“This is big. This is huge. It definitely shows it's possible,” said Tiafoe, who acknowledged that nerves got the better of him. “Again, the game is wide open.”
“We have Alcaraz, Sinner and the others, but it's not the same as it used to be.”
Tiafoe dictated the tempo in the first three sets, with periods of both players dominating on serve. After Tiafoe won 18 straight points on serve early in the set, Fritz won 23 straight points on serve to close out the second set.
The serve advantage was punctuated by short rallies, but also by long, drawn-out points in the closing stages, as Tiafoe was able to hit the ball from the baseline and get the fritz going in much the same way as his opponent, who is known for hitting the ball.
But a 31-shot rally that Fritz won at 30-15 and served for 3-3 seemed to energize the Californian and wear down Tiafoe. The match was leaning in, with Fritz controlling point after point. Tiafoe was never the same. Even the cheers from the majority of the crowd couldn't galvanize him.
Fritz had the upper hand.
Two years ago, after declaring he had a strong chance of winning, Fritz lost in the first round to Brandon Holt, an American who reached the highest ranking at 180.
Fritz has grown. He's gotten stronger mentally. The serve has always been there. The big strokes have always been there. Maybe the mentality hasn't. It certainly was tonight.
There was a lot of pressure on both Tiafoe and Fritz, and there was talk that young Americans were so well-united in their “one for all, all for one” mentality that when Americans finally broke the drought, it would feel like they'd all done it.
In fact, if any American were to end this winless streak here and beat the best player in the world on Sunday, it would be Taylor Fritz.
