Ricky’s pick for the U.S. Open semifinal between Fritz and Tiafoe

Either Taylor Fritz or Frances Tiafoe will become the first American man since 2009 (Andy Roddick at Wimbledon, lost to Roger Federer) to play in a Grand Slam singles final.

Who will it be? That will be determined when they go head-to-head for the eighth time in their careers on Friday night during semifinal action at the U.S. Open. It will be the first all-American men’s semi at Flushing Meadows since Andre Agassi and Robby Ginepri squared off in 2005 (Agassi won in five sets).

Fritz is the favorite for multiple reasons. He has won six of their previous seven encounters, including six in a row. He has also won six consecutive sets dating back to the summer of 2022. Moreover, Fritz is in awesome form right now. The world No. 12 is 43-16 this season and his run in New York includes victories over Matteo Berrettini, Casper Ruud, and Alexander Zverev. All three of those guys have reached Grand Slam finals.

Tiafoe is back in the semis at this tournament for the second time following defeats of Aleksandar Kovacevic, Alexander Shevchenko, Ben Shelton, Alexei Popyrin, and Grigor Dimitrov. The world No. 20 is playing well, but his only particularly great performance came against Shelton in round three–and that was five-set thriller that Shelton arguably should have won.

Tiafoe can keep this close and he will have the crowd on his side–but not to the extent that he does against a foreigner. Fritz is simply the better player at the moment and should continue his mastery of this matchup.

Pick: Fritz in 4

Ricky contributes to 10sballs.com and also maintains his own tennis website, The Grandstand. You can follow him on Twitter at @Dimonator.