Early on Tuesday afternoon, the line separating sun from shade sliced right through the heart of Arthur Ashe Stadium. That made tracking the ball a little tricky. But that was only half the problem.
Even after the glare had cleared, it wasn’t always easy to make sense of exactly what was unfolding below. The facts are these: after a tug of war against Alexander Zverev that lasted four sets and three and a half hours, Taylor Fritz is into a first Grand Slam semifinal.
What the scoreline fails to show? All of the chaos the American No 1 had to wade through to get there, as this match veered one way and then the other.
There was false dawn after false dawn. There were handouts and spurned chances. There were moments of electrifying quality diluted by battles of attrition. Every time one player appeared to have seized control, they gifted it back again.
Even Nick Kyrgios was baffled. ‘What on earth is going on?’ the Australian said after one 37-shot rally. At the end of it all, Fritz ground out victory. Frances Tiafoe could make it an all-American semifinal in a few hours’ time.
Taylor Fritz beat Alexander Zverev to reach the US Open semifinals at Flushing Meadows
The American is the last four of a Grand Slam for the first time after this four-set victory
This wasn’t always convincing – the American was too passive on too many big points as Zverev dragged him into a dogfight. But the American got the job done 7-6 3-6 6-4 7-6. No wonder the emotion came flooding out once match point was won.
This was the second time in a few months that Fritz and Zverev have put fans through the wringer. Back at Wimbledon, the American recovered from two sets down to win a five-set thriller.
But that comeback was soon forgotten amid a feud involving Zverev and Fritz’s girlfriend Morgan Riddle. Both during and after the match, the influencer uploaded social media posts that seemed to reference allegations of abuse against the world No 4. He has denied any wrongdoing and he had a pop back, too.
On Tuesday, Riddle was in Fritz’s box once more. She cheered and she clapped and she fanned herself. She disappeared at times, too. But she stayed off her phone.
And so this victory will all be about Fritz, his venture into uncharted waters and his bid to become the first American man to win the US Open in more than two decades.
Zverev, the No 4 seed, was beaten in a little under three and a half hours on Arthur Ashe
Fritz was cheered on by his girlfriend Morgan Riddle during this US Open quarterfinal
Fritz had already broken new ground this fortnight – no American man had made it to the fourth round of all four Grand Slams in a calendar year since 2003 and no American man had played three quarterfinals since 2007. But none of that mattered if this fifth attempt to reach the semifinals went the same way as the previous four. It didn’t.
Arthur Ashe was rather sleepy on Tuesday afternoon, at least compared to the cauldron of noise and cocktails that greeted Tommy Paul and Jannik Sinner a night earlier.
Fritz and Zverev were instead welcomed on to court by a sea of empty seats. Thousands of supporters had popped out to grab lunch and soak up the sun between matches; plenty were still filing back in when Fritz earned the first break point.
It came after a terrific toe-to-toe exchange from midcourt. The American passed up the opportunity rather tamely but at least the fuse was lit. Neither man was entirely happy, though. Neither was playing with the consistency or aggression to take control.
Fritz took both the first and fourth sets on a tiebreak to reach the last four for the first time
Fritz had all four chances to break – including three at 6-5 – but could not take any. Instead, he shanked three balls into the crowd as Zverev took us into a tie-break.
It would have been a bitter blow had Fritz fallen behind after all that. He didn’t but it felt rather fitting that, on set point, the American needed three smashes to finally kill off his rival.
That helped rouse Ashe from its slumber – and send Zverev teetering towards the edge. As the first set slipped away, the No 4 seed began berating his box and staring at his racket.
Within a few minutes, however, Zverev was standing with his arms outstretched. Somehow, the German had dug out a forehand passing shot that bent around the net and dipped on to the baseline.
Zverev produced the odd moment of magic but was eventually beaten by the No 12 seed
It was outrageous and it served as a reminder to Fritz that his grip on this match remained fragile. He failed to heed the warning. In his next service game, the American coughed up a first break point and then shanked another ball towards the stands. Within a couple of minutes, Zverev had closed out the second set and was threatening to take control.
The German forced another break point in the first game of set three and, suddenly, Fritz was wobbling. Credit the American, though, he held his nerve and held his serve.
Then came Fritz’s chance to seize the momentum – the No 12 seed broke for 2-0. Then came his turn to hand it straight back – 3-0 became 3-3 and this match hung in the balance once more.
It eventually swung back in Fritz’s favor. But only after he’d lost that 37-shot tussle that left Kyrgios in unfamiliar territory: lost for words. And only after he’d earned five break points and squandered the first four.
The tension barely subsided as set four went the distance. There was only one surprise – once Fritz got his nose in front in the tiebreak, it was plain sailing from there.
