The star-spangled banner continues to fly over the US Open. For the first time in their careers, Americans Taylor Fritz and Emma Navarro qualified for the semi-finals of a Grand Slam tournament on Tuesday, September 3. To the great delight of the New York crowd.
“It’s an incredible feeling. I’ve played quite a few quarter-finals in recent years and today was not the same: I felt like it was really my day to go one more round. It’s good that it’s here, on this court. [Arthur-Ashe]at the US Open, in front of my home crowd”commented Taylor Fritz, who defeated German Alexander Zverev, finalist in 2020.
The 26-year-old Californian player, ranked 12th in the world, showed nerves of steel to defeat the 4th in four sets, including two won in the tie-break, 7-6 (2), 3-6, 6-4, 7-6 (3).
Fritz had already played in four Major quarter-finals without going any further – Wimbledon 2022, US Open 2023, Australian Open and Wimbledon 2024 – but he relied on his excellent serve on Tuesday. He did not have to defend a single break point in a first set that went to a tiebreak, the American having failed to capitalize on any of the four he had on his side, including three in a row at 6-5.
The second set quickly turned to Zverev’s advantage, but then the tug-of-war resumed. As in the first set, Fritz had three set points at 5-4 and 40/0 on Zverev’s serve. And as in the first set, the German equalized. But this time he gave up the set a few points later on Fritz’s fifth set point.
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In the fourth set, both players held on to their serve as best they could until the tie-break, which the American easily won.
“Having a big serve helps, but against the very best, the ball comes back more often. I worked a lot to complete my range of shots so that I have to rely less on my serve.”he stressed, particularly referring to the net drives and the drop shots.
On Friday, he will face another American, Frances Tiafoe (20e) or the Bulgarian Grigor Dimitrov (9e) to try to reach the final.
« US Open baby ! »
A little before Fritz, Emma Navarro had already delighted the Flushing Meadow crowd by eliminating Paula Badosa. “It’s crazy to be in the semi-finals. US Open baby!”exclaimed the 12e world after her 6-2, 7-5 victory over the Spaniard (29e), two days after eliminating defending champion Coco Gauff.
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“It’s so important to me… With my coach, we’ve been working together since I was 14 or 15, so it’s been eight years. We’ve done a lot of good work together.”she stressed to her coach Peter Ayers.
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While she had only reached the second round in a Major once before (Roland-Garros 2023), Navarro has experienced meteoric rise this year: 3e round at the Australian Open, round of 16 at Roland Garros, quarter-final at Wimbledon and at least semi-final at Flushing Meadows, for her eighth Major. The American won her first and only WTA title to date last January in Hobart, Australia.
Badosa on the verge of tears
On Tuesday in New York, she had the best start but, after winning the first set, she suffered a drop in form that allowed Badosa to escape 5-1 in the second. While the players seemed to be heading towards an inevitable deciding set, Badosa collapsed and left six games in a row to her opponent.
It was even on the verge of tears that she played the twelfth game of the set, the last of the match, on her serve. Victim of chronic back pain, Badosa had ended her season last year after withdrawing from Flushing Meadows and did not return to competition until June.
“In the second set, there was a moment where I felt a little good, but at no time were my legs fast. I was reacting slowly, and when I’m like that, I feel very small on the court.”she explained. “After I had achieved the two breaks, I started to feel bad again, negative phrases invaded my head, and there was such a noise inside me that I only wanted to leave the court.”added the former world number 2.
For her part, Emma Navarro will face outgoing finalist Aryna Sabalenka (2) on Thursday for a place in the final.e) or the Paris Olympic champion Qinwen Zheng (7e).
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