US Open: Sinner still the one to beat as men’s semifinals are set
Can Jannik Sinner see his first US Open final? He, and three others, are into the semifinals of the men’s singles bracket at the US Open.
Americans Frances Tiafoe and Taylor Fritz will clash in one half of the semifinals of the men’s singles bracket at the 2024 US Open. The final Grand Slam of the year promises to feature an exciting finish, but whoever makes it through that semifinal will have their hands full besting the winner of the other matchup, between Jack Draper and Jannik Sinner.
Tiafoe and Fritz made it through their quarterfinal matches on Tuesday, while No. 25 Draper and No. 1 Sinner took down Alex de Minaur and Daniil Medvedev, respectively, on Wednesday. Tiafoe, the 20th seed, and Fritz, the 12th seed, will battle it out on Friday for the right to face the winner of that other bout.
Depending on the result, they could be favored — over Draper — or significant underdogs to Sinner. Sinner is the top seed of the tournament and needed four sets to take down Medvedev in the last quarterfinal match, but is still the popular pick to win it all.
Sinner, 23, had few troubles in the first set, fighting off two break points while converting on two of his three to take it, 6-2. But Medvedev roared back to life in the second, getting out to a 5-0 lead, including fighting off a break attempt by Sinner by converting a pair of aces to win the fifth game. The third flipped back around to Sinner, who won on 82 percent of his first serves. Things were closer in the fourth, but Medvedev slowly ran out of gas as Sinner kept up the pressure.
In the end, Sinner took a 6-2, 1-6, 6-1, 6-4 victory, his second major win over Medvedev this season. Sinner won his first Grand Slam title at the Australian Open earlier this year (against Medvedev), and made a career-best semifinals appearance at the French Open.
Draper, the 25th seed, took an upset victory over the 10th-seeded Alex de Minaur in the quarterfinals, 6-3, 7-5, 6-2. He was in control of that match from the onset, and cruised to a huge win against his first seeded opponent of the tournament. Draper is enjoying his highest singles ranking yet and is set to make his first ever appearance in a Grand Slam semifinal, making it to the second rounds of the Australian Open, French Open, and Wimbledon earlier this year.
Though Tiafoe has played strong tennis thus far, Fritz has had the more impressive run through the quarterfinals. He took down his first three opponents in straight sets, and then faced two matches where he was the underdog: against the eighth-seeded Casper Ruud and the fourth-seeded Alexander Zverev. Fritz needed four sets to beat both, but he moved past Ruud, 3-6, 6-4, 6-3, 6-2, and Zverev, 7-6(2), 3-6, 6-4, 7-6(3) to reach his first ever Grand Slam semifinal.
Fritz, 26, has also had his best finish at each of the four Grand Slams this year already. His quarterfinal appearances at the Australian Open and Wimbledon, along with his fourth-round finish at the French Open and this semifinals appearance, make up his best year yet in major tournaments. He also holds a 6-1 edge over Tiafoe in their head-to-head history.
Tiafoe hasn’t had as much success, but this semifinal equals his best Slam performance after making it here in 2022. He was nearly finished when he dropped two sets to No. 13 Ben Shelton, but ultimately took that match in five sets to advance to the Round of 16. He’s coming off a quarterfinals win over No. 9 Grigor Dimitrov, who sustained an injury and had to drop out after losing two of the first three sets.
The men’s semifinals are set for Friday, Sept. 6. They’ll be played at Arthur Ashe Stadium after a rest day and while the women’s semifinals take place on Thursday. The first of two men’s matchups should start around 3 p.m. ET, with the latter match set for 7 p.m. under the lights.
Television and streaming coverage is provided by ESPN and ESPN Plus, and the semifinals will be live on the former. Below, you can find the schedule for the men’s semifinals and below that, a look at each competitor’s path through the tournament to the penultimate round.
US Open tennis men’s semifinals
No. 12 Taylor Fritz vs. No. 20 Frances Tiafoe (3 p.m. ET approx.)
No. 1 Jannik Sinner vs. No. 25 Jack Draper (7 p.m. ET approx.)
No. 12 Taylor Fritz’s path to the semifinal
def. Camilo Ugo Carabelli 7-5, 6-1, 6-2
def. Matteo Berrettini, 6-3, 7-6(1), 6-1
def. Francisco Comesana, 6-3, 6-4, 6-2
def. No. 8 Casper Ruud, 3-6, 6-4, 6-3, 6-2
def. No. 4 Alexander Zverev, 7-6(2), 3-6, 6-4, 7-6(3)
No. 20 Frances Tiafoe’s path to the semifinal
def. Aleksandar Kovacevic, 6-4, 6-3, 4-6, 7-5
def. Alexander Shevchenko, 6-4, 6-1, 0-1
def. No. 13 Ben Shelton, 4-6, 7-5, 6-7(5), 6-4, 6-3
def. No. 28 Alexei Popyrin, 6-4, 7-6(3), 2-6, 6-3
def. No. 9 Grigor Dimitrov, 6-3, 6-7(5), 6-3, 4-1 (ret.)
No. 25 Jack Draper’s path to the semifinal
def. Zhizhen Zhang, 6-3, 6-0, 4-0 (ret.)
def. Facundo Diaz Acosta, 6-4, 6-2, 6-2
def. Botic van de Zandschulp , 6-3, 6-4, 6-2
def. Tomas Machac, 6-3, 6-1, 6-2
def. No. 10 Alex de Minaur, 6-3, 7-5, 6-2
No. 1 Jannik Sinner’s path to the semifinal
def. Mackenzie McDonald, 2-6, 6-2, 6-1, 6-2
def. Alex Michelsen, 6-4, 6-0, 6-2
def. Christopher O’Connell, 6-1, 6-4, 6-2
def. No. 14 Tommy Paul, 7-6(3), 7-6(5), 6-1
def. No. 5 Daniil Medvedev, 6-2, 1-6, 6-1, 6-4