LIVE | Taylor Fritz vs. Frances Tiafoe | Radio | 2024 US Open Semifinal

[Music] [Music] w [Music] [Music] [Music] deep behind the Baseline is Draper on set point for CER and he's got the set yanic CER has not lost a match this year when he has won the first two sets and he is one set away from a birth in the US Open final he leads Jack Draper two sets to love second serve from Draper the backhand returns center it's a winner and it is Yanik Center into the US Open final that was a few moments ago here on US Open radio presented by American Express and that match uh attritional grueling grinding gutsy whatever you want to call it that's what we're going to be remembering from that match uh Jack Draper entered the semifinal not having lost his set in this US Open it was yanic Center's first ever US Open semifinal just the third Italian man in the open era to get to the semifinals first set was long second set as we said it had a bit of everything most notably Draper getting sick cuz you hear some hitting on the court behind us Draper getting sick uh literally uh on Court and then you saw Center Take a Tumble during one of the you know the center fall I want to talk about that for a moment that whole point was one of the crazier points you'll see he fell so everybody was watching oh my gosh he's down he's shaking out his wrist but he managed to get up and hit this incredible winner to win the point it was the most spectacular Point you'll ever seen you probably it'll be rewatch many many many times but yes it ended with just a nuclear forehand from almost The Back Fence uh forehand crosscourt pass after taking the tumble and uh he didn't show that much Elation even though it was such a spectacular shot cuz he was immediately so concerned if he' done some damage to his left wrist yeah the incredible shot got lost in everything because when I was watching I didn't I didn't notice the the fall as much as I was like oh my God one of the best shots of this this event um though I would give mova the she's got a bunch of highlight re shots for for this US Open yeah so once Center was able to find a way through that set um it really looked like Draper that's where the the real physical struggles began and as that third set went on there's the thought about okay that those were two grueling sets that second set was 89 minutes but Draper just did not look right uh the more and more the match started and we started to think about uh when they took the court and we said wow Draper looks like he's already done a full workout and we wondered was he carrying some kind of illness as the third set went on Draper was just completely out of gas and it was really oneway traffic for center with Little Resistance from Draper but it is yanic Center into the US Open final on Sunday and he will play an American so we are going to take a quick preview of that men's semifinal the second men's semifinal that uh we will begin our coverage at the top of the hour we're not sure the match will begin at the top of the hour just because of that long day session it's a separate ticket so they are clearing out Arthur Ash stadium and they've got a led a whole new set of fans in to watch two Americans Taylor Fritz and Francis tifo and as they were saying I think it was Francis who said it the other day they first played each other in the boys 14s and you know these are two of the guys along with Tommy Paul and Riley opela they have been touted for over a decade as the next big thing for American tennis we've seen tifo get to a semifinal here we saw Tommy Paul do it in Australia we saw Ben Shelton who's younger than these guys get to a semifinal here last year but we had not seen Taylor Fritz uh make it to a major semifinal until he had the Breakthrough here he's now into the last four after beating Alexander verif MAA Fritz has been Rock Solid in this US Open and no one's been more impressive than Taylor I would say on this journey to the semi-finals and tonight it uh he has a I believe a six-1 record head-to-head over Francis so uh he will take a lot of confidence from that but you have to factor in that magical New York feeling that Francis can Channel those New York superpowers of his to to make it an epic contest I'm sure at least not only sorry to cut you off not only is he six and one against TFO head-to-head the only time Francis won was the first time they played that was Indian Wells 2016 where tifo would have just turned 18 years old uh Fritz was 18 going to be 19 later that year so yeah doing some math that's a dangerous proposition for me as well uh yes very dangerous so that that that's a long time ago they have played five excuse me six times since then Fritz has won all of them he beat him in a final in Tokyo uh that was two tight sets tie break sets but when you're a player and you take the court it's the classic nobody beats vus galta 17 times in a row um you know Francis Tifa might be saying nobody beats me seven times in a row are you are you thinking okay this guy has my number or are you thinking if you're the guy who's won six times in a row that hey i' I've got to do this or is who has that mental Edge when you look at that head-to-head well of course the head-to-head uh Taylor's got to have confidence going out against tifo but and the big butt is and Francis says none of those matches matter because this is New York and this is the US Open and he's dubbed it his house even though he's got to share his house with with Fritz tonight but uh it look I think the X's and O's favor favor Taylor Fritz when when you when you do the breakdown maybe slightly but Francis just an incredible athlete and and just loves the stage loves the big stage so it's going to kind of even out and I think this could be in the end anyone's match I think my personal opinion here it's two Americans I think it's going to be a pretty decidedly Pro tifo crowd because this Fritz has only played in Ash once in this US Open uh it's where he beats very of impressive win but he loves playing on Armstrong so he had won all of his matches out there but you know Fritz is the way he approaches his tennis he's not drawing as much and playing to the crown as much as tifo does so I think tifo over the years you know you go back to when he beat Nal here some of the big matches he's played over almost 10 years here he played Roger Federer here a long time ago and Federer was at the peak of his powers I I think it's going to be a pretty firmly Pro tifo crowd I don't know if that'll bother Taylor necessarily they're not going to be hostile towards him but I think there's going to be more support for Francis TFO but it does seem Mak like that like that is become you know part of the TFO cake that's baked into it is getting that energy from a New York crowd yeah exactly I'd say he's got a a modern day Jimmy Connor's love affair with this crowd so he'll be orchestrating them and uh being a conductor out there as he plays some Mercurial tennis which he always does so it certainly it's going to be tough for Taylor I've won six times in a row but this wouldn't be a good time to have my streak broken right now on the on the verge of making a US Open final yeah look at how they got to the final of course Mike C Leaf shus they'll have all the action of the semifinal uh you look at what tifo did he beat Alex kovachevich one of the promising Young Americans in four sets Alexander shevchenko he led two sets to love when shevchenko retired early in the third the much anticipated matchup with Ben Shelton tifo won that from two sets to one down he came back to win set four and set five then he beat alexe poin Fresh Off poin wi over jokovic and fresh off poin title in Montreal and then Gregor demitro they were in a pretty entertaining tussle where Gregor unfortunately got hurt and ultimately had to retire down 4-1 in the fourth Set uh for Fritz it's been far more straightforward because as you said Mack maybe nobody's been more impressive than Taylor Fritz Camilo Ugo Carabelli in straight sets just a shade under two hours I think the most impressive win was how he handled Beto bartini you know bartini a very capable player he's been had some bad luck with injuries but former semifinalist here who carried some decent form into this US Open Fritz tore him apart in Armstrong in their second round match he beat him 63 7661 uh then he beats Francisco komana a clayt guy in two hours Casper Roode in 243 and four sets and then that was an impressive win over a former runner up here in Sasha verev in the quarterfinal uh to get to this Maiden US Open semifinal so two very impressive but also very different roads to the last four and you think that that's only the the route to the semis for him he had to beat bartini he had to beat Roode and he beat Zev those are three really big solid wins and uh taking out Zev was huge in that last match and and uh Taylor's I just feel like he has been slowly and steadily building to this moment and he is this is a guy I mean they both have worked so hard but Taylor has worked so hard and incrementally improved every area of his game and and we'll see we'll see how he handles this moment under the lights at night against against his friend and and I love what Francis said Francis said I'm happy for him and I know he's happy for me these guys really are friends but I think coming coming out here tonight it's going to be war first time in 19 years two American men in a US Open semifinal uh that was when Andre AG he beat Robbie jeany and Taylor Fritz somebody who won the boys Title Here N9 years ago Francis TFO as we said he's you know he won lay peti Oz he won the junior Orange Bowl so these are two guys who've come up through the system but something Elise said Ma just about how Fritz has gotten you know just the progressive growth of Taylor Fritz's game over the last I would say since 20202 you go back to when he beat Nadal to Wi Indian Wells Fritz has been so consistent and you know that's a big credit to him big credit to Michael Russell and Paul anacon and what they've done and how he has changed his game is it a game uh finally before we leave this match how is it a game that could put him in the US Open final well I just think both players have great Synergy with their coaches I mean I think uh the new uh combination of Francis tifo and David wit is clearly paying dividends for Francis they're on fire together and uh Mike Russell has done just a spectacular job with Taylor you know gradually finding his game and now he he can do it all he can come to net now and uh and finish with some deaf touches I think he's lateral and uh North and South movement has been a big Improvement as well so he's put in the hard yards as they say so they're both really at the peak of their powers right now and it's just going to be an epic epic uh dramatic semi-final I've got to ask you do you think who do you think the X's and O's favorite or favor or do you not or do you just think it's anyone's match well when you've got a six match winning streak over somebody the ex andos definitely favor Taylor Fritz I mean he's got a very very damaging return and he could inflict some some punishment in anytime Francis misses the first serve so that's a little bit of a factor uh but uh and Taylor's forehand cross quarters one of his best shots and that'll be a challenging little pattern for Francis to counter does he stay in the crosscourt forehand rally a long time or is he try and redirect down the line that'll be certainly I think a patent that Taylor Fritz's team will be hammering home trying to win the forehand to forand battle how about this how about this thought before we leave it off and hand off to Mike C and company for that second semifinal we talked about the concern with yanic center after that fall with with a wrist injury but he's through to the final and hopefully he's able to go on Sunday if you're yanx siner or somebody on his team who do you want to see in the final on Sunday do you have are you feeling better about one matchup than another well I think that their team is it's all about Yanik they know he can do it uh he does have a a fairly good winning record against Francis I believe four and one just one in one with Taylor Fritz but I think they're just so relieved that mission accomplished today we're in the finals now tomorrow let's have a productive day let's try and just get our ground he's just feeling nice and grooved get her footwork sharp hopefully he's feeling 100% healthy and then it's just whoever whoever's in that final let's just bring it I know I can do it if I bring my best I don't think they can and I think what they're probably most relieved at is seeing how CER has handled the moment he he has had a couple a rough couple of months we didn't know about it but but he has and uh and was so relieved to to basically be out here being able to play after the the the issues with the with the cluball got yes yeah substance I'm I'm close the band substance and uh and I think they're relieved to see how he's responded and he's responded like a pro he has just been he has compartmentalized it and has focused on his tennis and very impressive yeah really with the exception of that first set against Macky McDonald in his first round match he has played like the world number one that he is he is a US Open finalist as he beat a unwell Jack Draper in three sets three grueling sets in the first semifinal today in Arthur Ash Stadium but we we've got another semifinal to come we are working towards the night session here on this Friday in New York City it'll be two Americans Taylor Fritz from Southern California Francis TFO from Maryland right in the DMV the Washington DC area and they are playing here in Arthur Ash stadium for a birth in the US Open final to play yanic CER the world number one on Sunday so we're going to say good night for now for David mcferson Elise Bergen Sophie amch was side I'm Brian Clark we're going to step aside when we come back it'll be Mike Cen and the entire team with the allamerican semi final on US Open radio presented by American [Music] Express e I think jokovic is the overwhelming favorite hold on hold on Lucero is just maybe not quite agreeing with that tape yeah I don't like it I don't like about it I don't think it's overwhelming favorite I don't know I don't see overwhelming all right we'll see how it plays out in two weeks I don't know this is the first time he's like I feel like never had any pressure never had like a chip on his shoulder I think we're getting an American in the final this year singles yeah I'll be I'm excited on the men side on the men's side yeah yeah second serup good kich run around forand TFO backand up the line running forehand kovachich into the net Francis TFO surviving he's through in four sets over Alex kach and he ices it with an ace fr through to the third round 6376 61 the top American in business here at this year's us openo with the first CHP into the corner it's a return suo on the stretch from sh he comes in safo here's the forehand B he wins it with a drop volley match point for frit he has been the model of consistency over the last two or three years and he is a US Open quarterfinalist for the second straight year fittingly with an ace 24 the match Fritz off the back foot plays a backand ver with a forand up the left sideline crosscourt forand Fritz crosscourt forand ver Fritz goes forand midor Fritz is the US Open semifinal 7 the first of four in the final four backand of gor down in the middle it goes now a big backhand over the top from demitro forand into the net it's 4-1 too gor is to the net and that's going to do it he's pulling the plug Franc Embrace at the net they have words kind towards each other Francis tiapo for the second time in 3 years is into the semifinals of the US Open e e e each day if you're so lucky you rise definitely allow myself to dream I always have since I was a kid you rise because you understand pressure is a privilege clinical performance by Jessica Pula she wins 63 63 for the third consecutive year she's into the round of 16 at the US Open you rise because the fire burns inside of you and it has never burned so bright a reward for all the hard work and to being able to come through two weeks of a slam there's so many challenges you're you're overcoming in those two weeks so I think it would just be a relief of of being able to overcome those challenges and I think that's kind of what it is and yeah I would I would love to be able to say that I accomplished that so that's always my goal going into a grand slam and would obviously love to be able to to take home the title you get up and sometimes you get back up and in the toughest moments Darkness finds you in the middle the cour he goes inside out now Pula moves forward and makes a mess of a first volley on her shoe tops and there's the break it's 51 mova big first serve down the middle an Ace from mova her second of the set and it gives her the set at six games to one Arthur as Stadium just Fallen silent to like burst into tears because it was embarrassing like she was destroying me has the darkness to find you you're damn right at has Jessica Pula first serve at 405 to the back hand of of Igan and it's into the net a small fist pump from Jessica Pula she has taken the first set Kick serve down the T to the forehand of EA into the forehand of Pula now EA goes wide in the back hand it's another unforced error and Jessica P Gula with a yes and a fist pump is into her first major semifinal you rise as you set out to conquer all the off Carolina moova has double faed and Jessica boua has taken the second set we are going the distance in semifinal number two on Arthur as Stadium the return forand to the middle of the court forand from mova is wide it's wide and Jessica paga raises her arms and says yes because she is in to the US Open final the next spectacular begins now be freaking awesome if I wi a grand slam [Music] [Music] [Music] you [Music] la [Music] [Music] get ready for the 2024 US Open tennis championships get ready for the next chapter of spectacular sensing the moment approaches the basine answers with a backend missing crosscourt we're going to a third set tie break and the crown is on their feet inside Ash get ready for the next highlight the next Challenger the next to make history the greatest of all time turns back the clock and is moving on he winds up flat on his back he's turned over he's sobbing and he is the usuf open Champion get ready to go all day all night and all the way up it's an eight and the dream has become a reality the US Open spectacular awaits who's going to be the guy who's going to take it who's going to be the aggressor who's not going to Blink in those moments in those tough tough moments second serve to the back end of tiapo return to the for end of gri run down by Francis and that forces the error from grigor Francis waves his racket in the air and the fans exalt as Tio has taken the first set 63 on Arthur a stadium second serve off the top of the net and long Francis too is double faed only his third of the match and that gives the second set to Gregor demitro we are locked up at a set of piece on Arthur as Stadium stay patient and and get to work second serve set point for TFO and a double call we're going to keep it right here as gor to and Francis tiapo go to their benches gor mentioned something by two to the chair umpire oh they're going to go inside is what the trainer just said it sounds like it's something could be in the groin hamstring area something where they have to take him inside so grigor demitro is going to leave the court he's not even walking right as as he goes off the court here it was a really really highle Max um you know I liked where I was at in the third regardless but obviously um you know didn't want to ending like that especially for me and and for the crowd But ultimately you get you guys get to see me again against another American so Friday is going to be one hell over there and indeed it is a heck of a day as we get you ready for history tonight for the first time in 19 years it's an All-American men's semifinal as Taylor Fritz will take on Francis tifo in just a little over half an hour I'm Mike Haan joined by leaf shus and just a couple of minutes away we'll have Nick mccarville joining us Courtside as well Leaf welcome to the dark side ttis happy to be alongside you Mike I'm thrilled to be alongside you thrilled for American tennis thrilled for Francis and and Taylor that they have the opportunity to play for a major final it's going to be really exciting these guys have obviously known each other since they were about 14 years of age it's just remarkable to think about the history of these two over the last 12 13 years we've been talking and leaf you you've been doing it I've been doing it the rest of the American tennis media we've been talking about when is is it time for this this group these two with Riley with Tommy Paul to make that jump into a grand slam final and it's finally here and it just really kind of goes to show how much these four guys in particular Michael Mo there Stefan klov earlier Noah Ruben these guys all have pushed each other and now they've hit that Pinnacle where they can get into the US Open final it means a great deal for the men's side of of our sport yeah no doubt and this competitive friction that all these guys have had over the last 5 to 10 years it says a lot about the hard work they've put in the respect they have for each other and the admiration I I think that's one reason why we're seeing them do so well I mean Francis and Taylor are playing maybe the best tennis of their life certainly in Taylor's case this is a breakthrough moment for him the level of tennis he's been able to produce here in New York has been nothing short of remarkable I think Francis has hit these Heights before in the apple and he's ready to go even further this time why do you think Frank Francis always Peaks here in New York good question I think I think it's a little bit about the stage I mean he's the perfect marriage of athlete and entertainment I really do and I think New York brings that out in him I think the courts suit his game I think it forces him to be a little more aggressive than what he naturally is um there's a lot of good things working in his favor so I think it's it's all coming together in the right way for him whenever he seems to step on these courts when you walk on these courts particularly at Stadium Court I mean you're putting yourself in this incredibly pressurized electric atmosphere and I think that's when Francis is at his absolute best when the celebrities are watching when the lights are brightest when the prize money the ranking points and your place in the game are on the line I think that's when he's going to shine the biggest and best and I think he's proven that along the way as well anytime Francis has gotten a new coach in his Corner whether it be Robbie jany six seven years ago when he made that first AUST open Final whether it was Wayne Ferrer a couple years back now David Whit every time he has a new coach in the corner that stock Rises very very quickly talk a little bit about their relationship and what you've seen Le yeah I think at the start of the Year different coaching setup before getting David on board I think they was slipping back into maybe some bad habits maybe a little tentative in his game I think David has reminded him that hey you're an allc Court player you've got to play from all parts of the Court you've got to be willing to be aggressive willing to impose yourself I mean his biggest strides happened you know 5 years ago when he started serving bigger and better than ever when his forehand grew same you can say with Tommy Paul they both improved those facets of their games and now I think David Wht is starting to coales all these wonderful qualities that he possesses and in bringing it together first and foremost though he he's got to serve well he's got to be aggressive I think David gets him doing the right things out there having said that I think we're going to see a lot of variety tonight from tifo it's not just going to be power because I I don't think you can break down Taylor Who's one of the best power players on the planet well we talk about David wit how about we hear from David wit a couple days ago he was able to talk with Robie uba and Zena Garrison here on US Open radio and just talk a little bit about what he felt TFO needed to improve once they started working together in July well I think just being more aggressive overall um you know looking to move forward more um um you know not getting St too far behind the Baseline uh there's a lot of good players out there and uh you know depends on the speed of the court and everything I think you got to adjust and you know I think when he's playing his best uh tennis he's uh looking to dictate looking to move forward looking to be aggressive um and then you just you know in the men's tennis It's just sometimes you get one opportunity one point one chance to break and then you know the serve so important but um really just competing every single point and uh laying it on the line and no free points um and I think he's done a lot better job at competing for every single point and uh it's paid off on a lot of return games yeah one thing that I noticed immediately Dave that you you definitely helped him especially here is getting him to stay in the moment not to be high not to be too high or too low like is that something you intentionally told him yeah I I mean we have a team around us um you know he works with a guy on you know that type of stuff the mental game and we all kind of preach uh preach it and we we speak together about it but I think staying in the moment staying in the present is very important um you know even last night with his match even though he was playing very well for a set and 42 a chance to go 52 and U you know he lost his serve there and went up losing the second and I think that could uh that momentum could have changed really quick and I think he kind of put that behind him and uh you know just kind of reset his it reset his brain and got back to just digging deep in the third set and you know starting over again so yeah I think that's a big part well Leaf resetting the brain is is always a tough thing to do for a grown man like Francis tifo uh one thing that I I noticed though in terms of that resetting of the brain not just within a match but big picture for Francis you know we listen before he and David joined forces obviously as you mentioned just a pretty tough year was about 16 and 15 at that stage and he talked about it the the famous quote of you know I'm losing to clowns uh clowns terrify me so that's that brought up some really bad things for me but now he's talking more about having gratitude for the opportunity that is in front of him and it just does along with the on court stuff feels like a different mindset heading into this big semi-final yeah I you know you're going to feel about yourself the way you feel about the numbers that you're producing over the course of the year you know 16 wins 15 losses are not the kind of numbers he's accustomed to that he's used to so that's going to affect his Outlook and I I think you're right he's suddenly now he's having success again he's starting to feel the gratitude that I know he felt you know last year and uh throughout this summer starting to come back I mean how well did he play in Cincinnati right how well did he play in DC you know that feeling is pretty strong and is powerful and you can be pretty grateful when you start winning tennis matches CU that's one of the toughest things to do on the pro tour is actually win tennis matches consistently which is what if you want to be a top 10 guy top 20 player you got to find a way to win matches every week and it doesn't matter the surface doesn't matter the opponent the conditions how tired you might feel if your body's a little banged up you still got to find a way to get the dubs and he's done that and he has done that very well 13 and four since the two of them started working together over the the last few weeks uh the third member of our broadcast team here tonight for this allamerican semifinal out of Montana Nick mccarville and Nick your court side um your thoughts on Francis TFO making his way through this fortnite here in New York that Ben Shelton matchup obviously there was so much weight on that particular match just your thoughts on what Francis you've seen from him as you prepare to give us some Courtside reports here tonight good evening guys we're great how you doing feeling good getting ready to go I'm glad you're with us down there cuz I know you're going to give us a lot of the story what's unfolding what's happening there I'm going to try guys I'm sitting next to Robbie Koenig who is doing the Courtside we call this The Whisper position but it's pretty empty in here right now Mike it's pretty cavernous I think they just opened the upper Gates I see some folks slowly trickling in to the upper sections here inside Arthur as Stadium as the team is working diligently I will say around the stadium to get it ready to be to do that switch over it's a quick one and actually Mike it's as quick as it was that Friday when Francis and Ben Shelton did face off what was that a week ago what is time during a grand slam that was one week ago um and that match should have been under the lights this match is under the lights and I just uh completed the great human feat of walking through the crowd when the ash day session uh crushes against the night session have you guys experienced that before by the way yeah Leaf I I was making my way over to the radio studio and I was experiencing it first oh you were swimming upstream and I think you need to be feeling pretty good about where you're sitting right now CU you don't want to be in that Maelstrom of humanity that making it way into Ash Stadium cuz it is mad it's mad I didn't get my Gold Star Sticker coming into the the arena but yeah this should be a match under the lights and Mike I believe your question was about Francis tifo and what a summer it's been for him what a huge shift you know he he opted for himself to make that big change with David wit and it it's just been not only career changing but lifechanging and I Leaf I agree with a lot of what you said and and I think too beyond the X's and O's it just feels like David wit is such a good fit for Francis where Wayne came in Ferrera he really professionalized Francis he took him to the next level but we're just watching now on our monitor here or maybe this is the ESPN monitor maybe I'm getting some special footage here but David wit and Francis tifo just having a big laugh in the gym a few minutes ago I mean that's really important Mike you know Francis the best out of the three of us and that's really important for Francis because there's so much pressure on these guys and they really have become the face of American tennis and they've deserved it these men and women you look at KOCO led the way last year with this title Francis needed someone to bring in a new Fresh voice and then also that someone could could Vibe with him that could be relaxed and that's what David wit did for Jess Pula he is he did it for Venus Williams for years and I I just think that that has changed franus lost his way a little bit what what was it Mike 16 and 15 yeah 16 and 15 that's wild for Francis so I just think the Vibes are so good and I I came across Mike Russell and Taylor Fritz what an incredible relationship that has been I saw them on their way to the practice court earlier this afternoon I just think that Mike Russell is the perfect you know these guys are they've done the work themselves but tennis is a team sport now you're going to see two individuals on court tonight but it is truly the teams around them that have brought them here to this stage and guys they must have opened the big Gates now cuz the people are pouring in and I it looks like they forgot the gold stars for the fans who made their way through the crowd but uh they're going to be rewarded with world class tennis yes so gold star stickers I guess we'll we'll leave those at the door we'll we'll have a prize for you when you are able to make your way back here into I think there's some crumble cookies in the in the backs here of our studio so I think we'll make sure you get something all right thanks thanks Mike I'm really guys what a true honor and for all of you listening at home you've got the two best In The Biz and then you've got a third musketeer here Courtside we're excited to do this with you absolutely and I'm going to need a fit check from Morgan uh for morgs when oh I got baby I'm ready I I'm ready with the Morgan fit check we're going to we're going to break Tik Tok before it even gets out there so that'll be a lot of fun Nick thank you so much thanks guys thanks Mike one other person member of the Francis team before we move over to Taylor tritz Jordi arconada uh doesn't get a ton of of recognition he has been with Francis through a lot of these changes here as a guy who came through the the ranks at the same time as both Taylor and Francis he's been francis's travel buddy for The Last 5 Years through different coaches and just that constant and as Nick was talking about just having that Comfort around you where you just feel at peace I mean you can speak to it as a former player yourself I mean that means the world when you're just at peace off the court you can bring it on the court ABS absolutely and you know coaching matters your team matters these days you know these guys are making the kind of money where they can surround themselves with the situation that's most comfortable for them and most beneficial for their game and their sport so Jordy David all these guys are you know they're around Francis and putting him in a place where he feels he can play his best tennis and I think that means a little bit of chill off Court some hard work on it and a lot of love and gratitude so it's uh he's got it going on I mean he's in a really good place right now and we'll see how far that good place takes him here tonight against Taylor Fritz and we'll talk a little bit about Taylor coming up in just a couple of minutes here on US Open radio presented by American Express [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] This Is Us open radio presented by American Express we are getting set for the first men's quarterfinal in this US Open it is Sasha's verev Alexander verev he is the fourth seed here and he is playing Taylor Fritz for the third time this year it's Alexander ver on the far Baseline down the center into a backhand return from Fritz that's serve 132 and Fritz had a pretty good return but it's ver in control now it's ver in at the service line gets low for the volley but Fritz has the pass ver cut it off once and the second time with the volley now a forehand for prin and it's verev missing into the net and the first break chance of this match is a chance for Taylor Fritz more than a few extra bounces as verev now ready this second serve on his second set point right down the center Fritz knew it was coming played a loopy forehand that Zev tried to flatten out then Fritz missed his forehand long Zev Roars he is leveled this quarterfinal taking the second set 63 just the fourth time that Taylor Fritz has been broken in this US Open Sasha's verev just got him and that was the difference in the second set best of three for a spot in the semifinals ver have second serve gets it into the center of the Box a backhand middle return from Fritz forehand from zarett pulls Fritz to his right now Cross Court Four Hands from both players Fritz on set point with a forand middle from zarett Fritz steps in with a backhand backhand cross ver backand cross from Fritz it's set point it's the set for Taylor Fritz as ver missed his backand 6 to Taylor Fritz is one set away from his first ever major semifinal he takes the third 64 over Sasha verev this second serve a backhand return from Fritz backhand off the left sideline from Z who moves right into a forand cross now forand cross from Fritz forand cross zif forand middle from Fritz forand middle from zth forehand from Fritz they trade Big Top spinning forehand now a backhand from Fritz backhand cross from Z same from Fritz they trade back hands crosscourt in the ad court it's ver now it's Fritz who's going to change it up who's going to roll the dice p Fritz with the forehand pushing Zev into the corner Fritz Waits big forehand Fritz Z is there Fritz in at the service line hits the volley crosscourt PPS the right fist he's two points away chance for his first ever major semifinal to toss to serve up the center deep forehand return from Fritz backhand cross D burr from Z they trade crosscourt backand now it's a slice backand from Fritz a forehand from Z Fritz off the back foot plays a backand z with the forand up the left sideline crosscourt forand Fritz crosscourt forand ver britz goes forand middle Taylor Fritz is the US Open semifinals 76 the first of four in the final four and for Taylor Fritz of whom much was expected he is delivering here in New York he outlasts Sasha verev 76 36 64 76 he likes playing on Armstrong but they love him here in Arthur Ash Stadium as he soaks it all up from this crowd his parents his coach his girlfriend everybody's on their feet for Taylor Fritz and with good reason I feel amazing you know I've I've had a lot of looks at quarterfinals over the past couple years and today just today just felt different I really feel like it was it was my time to to take it a step further and I mean it's it's only fitting I'm doing it here on this court at the open in front of the crowd well certainly interesting with Taylor britz that win over Sasha spev he's actually a guy Leaf shyris joining me Mike C and Nick mccarville Courtside here on US Open radio he's a guy who likes playing on Armstrong just a little bit more of an intimate atmosphere but seemed to handle the pressures and the rigors of the Arthur Ash stadium in that win over Sasha very impressive serving and very impressive to see him hold his nerves through that one yeah and zov has played top two tennis I mean I think he's been right behind Carlos and Yanik in his play finals of ringos this guy was going to be a out and particularly as well as verbis serving I think Taylor showed the level he's at by taking him out as convincingly as he did so I'm not worried whether it's Armstrong or Ash for Taylor I think it's going to be more about the surface under his feet you know this is a Southern California Kid this is his best surface although he's proven he can play on anything whether it's grass or clay I think he's a threat on Clay he can make deep runs on any clay event in the world but this surface today tonight it's going to be good this week why now why now after having those opportunities in the quarterfinals obviously the loss to MTI was a heartbreaker at Wimbledon this year why now is it he's finally making that breakthrough into the semis and Beyond yeah I think he's had to look inside himself and say you know if I'm going to take the next step I've got to do a little bit more with guy my game I think his forehand is even more solid I think he's a little more courageous about coming forward and maybe playing a few more balls in the air whether it's a swing volley whether it's a backhand B that he finishes and he's done that a few times nicely I feel like his game has just got a little bit better you know if you can get a little closer to all cord player I think it's going to be good for everyone I think Francis might be considered an allord player because of the variety he possesses Taylor Fritz maybe not so much variety but he's slowly adding little layers to his game if you want to be a top 10 player consistently and I know Taylor has that ambition in him he's going to have to do things like that and Michael Russell specifically mentioned that transition game it's you know incremental progress but with that groundstroke capability and as you mentioned especially on that forand he does have that ability to finish in one or two volleys it doesn't have to be perfect every time that's right and usually he's coming in behind a great shot I always feel when I watch Taylor play I sometimes feel it's hard to play All Around tennis when you have such an extreme grip on your forehead you know his grip is pretty much on the bottom of the grip and I feel that that can be a little bit limiting sometimes it challenges him to to find a different forehand grip in different situations on the court and maybe not as comfortable with that transition to another grip however he's becoming more comfortable with it now so I think that's one of the challenges every player faces how am I getting better today how am I getting better tomorrow I think he's answered that Bell by improving his forehand side making those plays at the net taking the ball in the air and he's serving bombs he's always been known as a bomber but I think he's serving more consistently and with more more variety Nick mccarville is Courtside and I think Nick everyone knows Francis tfo's personality so expressive at any point Taylor Fritz is almost the complete opposite on court in terms of just stoic feisty and very competitive what can you tell us about what he's like off the court and why these two people might actually mesh when they're off the court yeah I think it's been a lot different for Taylor Fritz and I I think you guys would agree he seems to be a natural introvert so Francis extroverted people are drawn to him he's drawn to these energetic sort of atmospheres we know him at the showman Leaf you were talking about Francis really taking to this court the last few years whereas for I think for Taylor Fritz that's it's been a little bit harder I remember early in his career Mike thinking back to that Indian Wells meeting that they had that was their first ever meeting and you had an individual Taylor Fritz I think he just felt overwhelmed by all of it would cross his arms during interviews was shy it is still soft spoken but there's a lot of sarcasm between these two guys there is a very tight friendship and I think that Taylor's had to figure himself out you know he has a previous marriage he has a kid he's now got a new partner in Morgan riddle they've got a very public relationship and I think that he's had to chart his own course and I think at times for you folks who are big time tennis fans you have known sort of you've watch Taylor kind of try to figure out who he is and I think for the American fans meeting him for the first time Mikey's got he's the boss yeah he's got the boss IM blazed across his chest and his forehead he's got the Chipotle deal I he had the T he's got the Tiffany bling I mean he really does kind of it's the 1995 sort of All-American pie that's the aura but I I think it's been a little bit of a challenge for him and I think actually too maybe that's why Francis has just been a little bit a couple inches ahead of him in terms of grand slam play you know Francis won that Indian Wells title a couple years ago that was on his home turf he grew up in the Palm Springs area so I think that it's been a little more challenging for him to figure out exactly who he wants to be and I think that speaks volumes out there on the tennis courts tonight though don't you think that both these guys are going to try to the crowd's going to be what 6040 fo yes but I think Taylor Fritz is going to try to win over some people early doors I I I would love to see a Roar from Taylor and get the crowd involved on his side well we're about four minutes away from the pre-match interviews um but I I did want to ask both of you that very question we both all three of us know this idea that sometimes when you play your friends people you've known for 12 13 years it can sometimes be a little awkward ugly you've also got the pressure of trying to to be the first American into a final since 2009 Leaf I'll start with you what do you think this match looks like especially early it's going to be very close the good news is when you play a friend you know what's coming at you the bad news is he knows what you're going to throw at him so there is a little bit of an understanding of the tactics in the game so there is a comfort you know there's a comfort in knowing what's sort of across the net yet that can also be a little unnerving so I think we're going to see who's going to handle the moment better obviously the fact it's semifinals of the US Open hello this this is not a field court you know at some small Challenger event which I know they started together on Challengers so this takes on just an incredible amount of weight and that's what's going to make it so compelling yeah Nick how do you see that first couple of games playing out in terms of that mental side oh I yeah I think it's going to be huge and I I think too we look at what Ben Shelton did last year to Francis TFO and that was obviously a he took the racket out of his hand sort of through the vibe and so I will stick with I think Taylor's going to need to try to be a little bit of a showman and then you know the the start's always so important guys I think we could be in for a really really great Clash these two guys I I know that it's a head-to-head that tifo um has struggled in but I think that yeah I just feel like if the if the tennis settles in that these two guys are going to provide the electricity themselves yeah and I think that's the real question for me does the tle tennis settle in if that happens I think we're totally fine I just want to see these first four or five games to see how both of them handle the moment again every time they've been interviewed whenever they come here whenever they come to Miami and Indian Welles for the master series events one of the first three questions they always get when is an American going to be in a grand slam final when are they going to win the Grand Slam title one of the two of them will have that chance to erase all of those questions for so many years that's a lot of weight yeah and it's it's a wonderful opportunity at the same time it's all about perception how do you perceive the challenge here's a question for you Mike and I know you're driving the ship but you probably know them best and that you saw them from the very start how what are the biggest changes quickly in their development over the years how have they changed in your eyes personality wise they're the exact same right they they have been pretty true to their characters throughout fr always was the gregarious one what the coaches at that stage had to teach him and is still a bit of an issue and I know they're coming out for an interview here in just a couple of seconds the big thing for him was learning how to just stay focused and that's still an issue still has some times where he lets a set slip away mentally that has been the biggest development for me obviously some technique changes on that forehand and much more movement through up to the net Taylor's just been the same guy he has been a 40-year-old man since I first met him at the age of 17 both guys great competitors though right fantastic always um my first time getting to see Francis he went in three straight Challengers on the green clay he went quarterfinal semi-final Final in his first three uh Taylor on the other side lost in apos first round to Misha spev and then a couple weeks later after the US Open won back-to-back challengers in Northern California in Sacramento and then in Fairfield and you just knew that the sky was limit he was going to be the one that gets there first and kind of the torch Bearer for a little bit from that group but you know Francis was going to be the one that could have these wild swings and also always even at the challengers remember one in Tallahassee Florida he was high 17 years old high-fiving everybody in the stands all these 50-year-old women who are just drinking wine having a great time and he's high-fiving everybody on his way he's the same guy and and it really tells a lot about the group around them for both of these guys they they've stayed true to their character throughout yeah and isn't that fascinating the road to the US Open leads through those little places Tallahassee and all the stops in Northern Cal and Southern Cal those small little venues the pathway is never the same for any player but these two have shared it yeah for a very long period of time again they talked about how they first met 14 at one of the USA camps down in bokeh uh and just Francis talked about how Taylor was just kind of That Awkward kid at the time and people said that Francis was the natural he just was gifted with something but Taylor Maybe had to work a little bit harder to surpass his friends from that age of 14 to where he came out of almost finished product at the age of 18 and obviously an incredible bit of Junior success for Taylor Fritz along the way as well but this is his first semifinal at the Grand Slam level if you will as a senior we are currently waiting for players to come out of the locker room for their pre match interviews and let's hear from Francis TFO semifinal on your favorite court but this time against an American what does this mean for American tennis oh two um I mean I think as I said many times in interviews I think we've all been knocking on the door for a while now um and Taylor been playing great and so have I so um it's just Testament to show how well we have been doing and that we are capable so tonight's going to be a great night from both sides you've had some absolute battles against Taylor Fritz in the past what needs to be on tonight in your game to flip the script I'm just going to have to be sharp man I'm going to have to be sharp obviously he's he's played well for a really long time super consistent um I'm going to have to bring my best up I'm going to have to be aggressive and um yeah and compete to the end the two guys who really want to win obviously this match so um I think the best competitor is going to win today good luck and have fun Tyler Fritz Nick curios of course doing the interviews close with both of these guys Taylor two days off first Grand Slam semi-final how you feeling I'm feeling pumped I'm uh super excited to be here and super excited to uh to get out there and play so big fo said this is his house and the energy is going to be insane tonight but what do you need to focus on to get the best out of your game and turn it into yours I think I got to just stay Within Myself stay in the moment uh just trust that trust that what I can go out there and do is uh it's going to be enough I play well good luck out there so the two of them grabbing their bags they're going to walk through the tunnel Francis just a couple of steps in front of Taylor Fritz as he does he's got a couple of pairs of shoes in his hands headphones are on and let's hear the introductions please welcome the players for tonight's semifinal from the United States Francis tiapo [Applause] and also from the United States Taylor [Music] Fritz Le that was a that was a little bit of a smile on the face of Taylor Fritz as he got introduced well I I think it was a little bit of a ner nervous smile I think he was trying to make sure that he smiled just to you know relax the muscles in his face cuz as I said this is such an amazing Stadium Court biggest stadium in the world for tennis and I'm telling you this is one of the most electric environments when you walk on the cord here it is intense of course what's interesting a lot of people who know the lower ranked player comes out first right that would be Francis and then Taylor comes out following him so that's kind of how it goes and usually that first player takes the far seat Taylor comes out and takes the seat nearest that entrance door so there's sort of a a process and a progression of these moments and now they'll lace up their shoes maybe get a last few listens on their beats you can see Francis has got the Beats going and how about the fact that the Beats matches his outfit as well I mean the color of the headphones matching the purplish color of his jacket yeah he's got all going on I mean I think I could say and I think you can too he's ready to go he looks good he feels good even as a tennis player you got to feel good about your wearing on the court he's got a great green eonix bag looks like it he's got a little sort of camouflage look to it very stylish of course Taylor wearing the black with the boss logo black socks white shorts white shoes Daman deasis archair umpire about to handle the coin toss as it has been for most of his life Taylor Fritz waiting for Francis TFO that is pretty much the standard for the two of them business like and yeah Francis runs late from time to time he's heading out now for our coin toss with Damien deasa in front but also behind Okay so gentlemen we have the net machine 25 seconds between points you know where the clock is okay Tower you have red you have white uh technology live LC but it's also VR you know you can challenge not up fall short through okay but you cannot challenge time relation Cod relation foot for I the bo hit the net during the Ser all right any questions no wasn't going to be your choice TS yellow blue head Tails heads serve stay in the middle please all right so photos being taken now between these two Americans what an incredible moment for American tenant here tonight inside Arthur rash Stadium let's get one final update pre-match with Nick mccarville last pictures here for Francis and Taylor and Nick sneaks into those pictures from time to time he's right behind in wearing I photo bomb them a lovely white cardigan here tonight um isn't he stylish I'm trying is St nobody more styl Hey listen I'm styled for Radio tonight everyone um your final thoughts though Nick before we get this one started in in terms of what you're expecting in terms of the on court here tonight yeah I I'm listen I think that it's going to be huge for Frances to return as well as he has all summer we saw his run to the Cincinnati final I think the return game has really cleaned up and leaf said it earlier he's got to use that allc Court game he's got to make this match really physical got to try and Rush that forehand some sometimes that's the side that can break down it's a weapon for Taylor Fritz Mike but I think that it also can hinder him at times and he's going to use the crowd I think he's really going to try to get this Arthur Ash Stadium crowd on his side if Taylor Fritz can serve some bombs if he can continue the stats that he's shown this tournament he's going to be really tough to break and then that puts a lot of pressure on Francis and and his own surf yeah that's exactly correct because Taylor's only been broken five times through five matches here and meanwhile has converted about 48% of the breakpoint chances that he's had and speaking of stats listen to this from the entirety of the year for Taylor Fritz on surf 538 Aces 77 double faults that's a better than 5 to1 ratio and that everything just kind of goes through the serve for Taylor Fritz yeah it's going to set up the point for him it's going to build his confidence he's going to get into the point more often than not like he wants to you know he's going to put the server where he wants to put it and then he's got an idea how he's going to back up that particular serve and you know a lot of it's going to be first forehand from the center of the Court that's that's sort of the the coin of the realm in the modern game if you will the ability to dominate with your serve and your forehand well we've got a couple minutes left in the warm-up we're going to take one last break and then come back for the start of this one Fritz and foe coming up on us open radio presented by American Express [Music] [Music] [Music] get ready for the next epic match destined to leave you PR breathless live from the USA Billy Jean King national tennis center in New York This Is Us open radio presented by American Express well the stars are indeed out here tonight Mike haian Lea shrus Nick MC caral was the last couple of serves for our two players I I'm looking at who's in the president's Suite right now Leaf you could put together an Allstar NBA team you've got Kevin Garnett out there John Wall clay Thompson Klay Thompson the rivers Brothers Michael Porter Jr you've also got some incredible soccer players Rose LEL is here Megan rapino Sue bird on the women's basketball side I mean this is absolutely rapper Fat Joe whoa I don't know that I've heard that name in quite some time but fat Joe's here well that's interesting Aubrey Plaza you know who I ran into in the Players Lounge today was one of the alltime greats two hands on both sides Monica celis Monica celis great to see Monica she's looking terrific and what a great Champion Justin thorough probably going sleeveless here tonight as he is want to do is he Divine Joy Randolph it is a star studded Affair and we knew that that was going to be the case I I went and looked at what the prices of tickets were on the secondary Market the cheapest I could find for upper upper it's like 350 court side is somewhere in the 60,000 range well that's what I paid by the way 60k baby that's my life savings I need that Olympic money that apparently Nick marille get no that's my life savings we're just going to describe for you you've got the umpire's chair directly behind that maybe first is it second row Nick mville I'm waving oh it's great and the good thing is we're going to get a lot of input from Nick about what the players are sensing conver with the chair are they having any issues with their equipment there's a lot that we're going to be able to I'm going to try Leaf I want to tell you Mike the reception was wild for Foe and it was pretty quiet for Taylor FRS interesting well let's and go ahead Mike the last note is it is a Tom Brown gray fitted suit that's the fit check for Morgan riddle interesting gray fitted suit it's a choice Taylor Fritz going to be serving first first From The Far Side and the black and white from boss serve good fo goes up the line lob Fritz steps into an inside out forand serve plus one to start for 15 love yeah that's going to be the ingredients for Success Taylor Fritz High first serve percentage knock down those opportunities you're weing 15 all serve From The Far Side is an ace Francis was leaning to his right got burned to his left for Ace number one for Taylor who is again wearing the black and the white by boss it's a white headband black shirt white shorts black socks white shes going to be a let here and another first serve coming does have that chipotle patch on the left sleeve one of the worst Chipotle orders so Bland I suppose that's what you need pre-match Serv is good forehand through the middle Fritz goes backand to a tifo backand Fritz runaround forehand TFO big forehand that Fritz tracks down goes up the line misses long 315 yeah early moments in a match Francis tiao driving the forehand crosscourt it's a good way to build confidence early go into those big targets find your Rhythm you might not win this game but you want to get involved Ser for frites into the net second serve upcoming for Taylor that is good to yfo back in off the net back onto his side game points here for Fritz in the opener so often early in a match it's about getting your feet moving trying to forget about where you are that you're in a grand slam semi think about what you need to do to play your best tennis get those feet moving as a key serve is a slice chipped back Fritz goes back into the open Corner TFO backing up the line for a winner his first winner on the night three total between the two of them in the first five points 4030 now yeah TFO so good off the two-hander in fact both these men great two-handers serve up the te is into the net four of his first six on serve for Fritz and again we're going to be keeping a very close eye on that particular stat with Fritz in particular backhand dug out by Fritz is going to miss long that return right onto the Baseline in a fist pump early from f as we go to deuce yeah that was money imate be brave from the team around Francis TFO sounded like it might have actually been Jordi arconada serve up the te lob return Fritz not going to have to come up with the overhead Fritz the game point once again for Fritz 135 on that serve up the T so another game point for the boss serve T is into the net second serve here for Taylor is good to a TFO back in inside out that's going to miss the court entirely hold to Deuce for Taylor Fritz as Nick mccarville mentioned this has been a very oneway matchup over the last several years 61 in favor of Fritz tifo winning that first battle in Indian Wells back in 2016 they haven't played for about 18 months however at capul last year I believe that would have been February with Fritz winning that one three and four so quite some time since they've last played obviously with Francis in particular a lot has happened leaving Wayne Ferrera going with Diego moyano who was a USA Coach who coached both of these guys when they were 16 17 before finding himself with David wit finding himself a lot of success tifo serving for the first time here on the day from The Far Side at love one serve te good Fritz return is into the net 15 love we're going to call this a little bit of a lavender with purple highlight sleeveless kit here from Nike with a white headband serve te good Fritz return good TFO Inside Out forehand to a Fritz backand middle TFO rolls a forehand again Fritz backand this time it's into the net it's 3 love love yeah that'll be a little reminder to Taylor deep position in the court you've got to elevate that shot get it to carry the net you want it to go deep back in reply 30 love at love one serve good return up the line catches the Baseline return winner 1 Taylor Fritz now 3015 third winner already leaf for Fritz no unforced errors between these two at this moment 3015 serf for tifo into the net second serve for Francis good Fritz back hand up the line to a TFO forand cross Fritz forand cross roll to a TFO forand that's into the net there's unforced error number one that's where I am the best in the business Leaf don't you ever hesit I'm the best at the commentator curse right well that is going to be one of the interesting patterns of play that we're going to see who's going to get the edge when they trade Four Hands crosscourt who's going to gain the advantage is it going to you know someone's going to change directions first who's going to make the first error who's going to produce the best shot at 30 all TFO serves T into the net second serve percentage going to be interesting as well second serve is long it's a double fault for big foe in the first break chance of the night goes to the 12 SE Taylor Fritz and it does feel like that crowd is surging a little bit towards tifo here early as Nick alluded to serve break point good Fritz rolls a forand to a TFO for and inside out Fritz backand middle TFO forand inside in to a Fritz forand middle TFO forand inside out in behind it backand up the line volley from foes into the back of the net little indecision from him was it going to be good or not and the volley dumped into the Nets quick break for tayor Fritz to love Yeah Fritz was a little fortunate he was a little bit tight in the rally but he was getting the ball into play tiao had an opportunity to come forward and it was an awkward ball that Fritz produced up the line it was h high and slow and uh Francis had a plan it not easy but he missed it so a blink first there from Francis go ahead Nick yeah just feels like a nervous start for Francis a little flat there Mike in that last Point yeah it was an awkward volley Leaf but he certainly had a play on it and on top of it a double fault in the point right before leading to those fears of some nerves serve good on a second Fritz steps into a backhand middle TFO backhand to a Fritz forehand cross TFO for in Cross Fritz goes for in Cross so does TFO Fritz up the line slice from TFO is not going to get to the net meanwhile Taylor Fritz looks very locked in and very clean right now for 15 left yeah that was a better drive it wasn't tentative he establishes his legs and when he gets his legs right boy he can rock the ball and that was too good tifo was only able to bunt it back and it fell weakly in the net Ser for Fritz misses out out wide here at 15 love second serve for Taylor Fritz kicker out wide TFO backing up the line misses wide Mike I was also looking back at those highlights from aapco yeah I was at that match actually for the ATP and guys it was so hot and even though they only play evening sessions in aapco and Taylor took early leads in both those sets so this is the exactly the start that Taylor Fritz wanted indeed last two matchups have indeed been straight set victories for Taylor Fritz second serve good Francis goes through the middle Fritz misses a backend that's his first unforced error 3015 now I will say the conditions though right now this is the most perfect New York night still air inside our thrash Stadium as it fills up the these boys are going to love it tonight so no vomiting got it serve up the tea chip returned I was going to say it's a perfect New York night well there must be a honeydew somewhere in that sentence oh are you offering to deliver Arena sabala's buying I'll take a Frozen please all right call Arena I think she said she was buying 20,000 of them serve out wide with this game point Fritz guides a backhand misses wide that's a big return into the body from tifo and all could do was guide that backhand crosscourt just misses 4030 now that was a nasty return Tio made really clean contact it got on Fritz very quickly serve at 4030 is going to be a let called by the machine Daman Dumas just keeping an eye on the nups the rules the codes of conduct here tonight with the electronic line calling try again with his first serve out wide is into the net for Taylor Fritz 26 years of age could move seven with a win tonight backhand from TFO Fritz digs that out TFO goes backand up the line running forehand Fritz TFO forehand rolled through the middle and rolled long so a great start here for Taylor Fritz with a thre love lead not easy in any of those three games but that's exactly what Taylor Fritz wants to see here nerves are very much not part of the game for him early three winners one unforced ter Leaf yeah and TFO said in the opening interview he said well consist you know Taylor's always had the consistent results and that's kind of what you expect from Taylor he's going to play at a high level throughout this entire match and I think tafo is going to have to find a way obviously to match that level stay with them it's a little tricky in a tennis match if you know your level is constantly dropping you have to deal with the emotional ups and downs Taylor is a little more steady in that regard and the way he produces his tennis so the the journey we're of and running and it's tifo who's going to have to solve a few early problems and Nick for you Courtside I mean talk a little bit about that because Francis does have that high expectation with all of the you know friends that he has made within the sports community over the last couple of years everybody comes here to see to see Francis and that's a lot of pressure especially in this type of a stage on a Friday night yeah but Mike do you think that bothers him I mean you know I'm a little bit personally better than I do I think think he likes it I mean yes I think a lot of the Rolo decks you know you look at the cele I was even looking Sabrina ionescu the New York Liberty star they've developed a friendship he wears Sabrina's Jersey a lot um I think he kind of thrives on it Mike I'm happy for you to push back on that one thing I do want to point out is in this change over Jordie was doing a lot of the kind of famous Patrick morago signaling to Serena of which is now legal by the way Jordi is saying four words Forward Motion I think that just more meant hit through the court don't whip up on that forehand come on hit through it stay aggressive that was the communication from the faux box sounds good yeah and I I I do think you're right I think he thrives on it typically this one feels a little different though considering he is playing one of his close friends in this one and I do wonder if that maybe does have an effect speaking of also moving forward Francis moving forward just once so far in these first three games and that transition has been such a big part of his progression through the summary gets a fouring goes inside out stays back going to have another fouring goes cross this time Fritz forand cross that will miss long it is 15 [Applause] love sweaty sweaty man the humidity is again very high but again the temperatures are in the low 70s so that's relatively comfortable we saw obviously the toll it took on Jack Draper who might have been feeling a little bit ill as well earlier today 15 love second serve is long double fault number two for TFO yeah that's H tough to make progress when you're being this charitable it's fifth unforced error so far here tonight David wit a black shirt with a energy drink sponsorship serves into the net those sponsorships for the coaches uh coming Fast and Furious right now and they're pretty lucrative yeah there's a lot going on in these guys shirts that can serve good TFO goes back in middle Fritz backand cross Tracked Down by TFO cross Fritz backand up the line misses just wide 315 we need to get Mr M Carville a sponsor I mean he's Courtside right behind the chair yes can we get Nick a couple of patches last second here uh this is called radio mic so um you're still on TV elsewhere oh really people can see people can see you we see you this works you're looking good uh you guys Francis looking tight to start yeah 305 first serve is long five of his first 10 with first serves and one of four so far success rate on the second this second is good Fritz goes back in up the line TFO just getting barely the frame on it 30 all once again on the TFO serve yeah you go into the fritz backand with a serve that lands short and is 81 mph that can happen Fritz will be aggressive on a second serve remember first serve maybe defend second serve you can attack at 30 all love three serve good Fritz up the line TFO backhand cross for a serve plus one his second winner of the night both of them off the backhand Wing game point here at 4030 yeah that was a nice ball for TFO it came up nice and high into his backand and that's a Dependable shot and he took it crosscourt for a clean winner yeah the forehand of course gets all the attention with its unique Styles as he serves into the body gets three-point off a bit Francis TFO on the scoreboard but that backhand is always the one that just keeps very very steady and level for Francis TFO maybe now he takes that deep breath kind of settle himself into this match at 3-1 yeah and so often in the tennis match yes an early result can set the tempo but that can change and and that's what chaf was hoping for right now he's got a little bit of momentum cuz he won the last game find something positive and build on it FR serving here at 3-1 it sounded like the team were saying through the middle to to Francis there is that the right play against I'll give here in a second return is to through the middle and short Fritz puts that in his de Corner forand TFO volley Fritz good TFO gets wood on it but misses long for 15 love is that the right play against Taylor Fritz who can be so good out of the corners I think so I mean you know good thing is you're going to build confidence in your shots and you're going to ask questions without giving up any angle and Fritz likes an angle where he can hit long angles himself go up the middle it's going to shrink the court a bit so at 15 love 3-1 in the first serve out wide TFO goes back in to a Fritz back in TFO Inside Out forand Fritz has to track that down back in will miss long A little sluggish getting out there to that backhand Corner 15 on yeah and I'll have a clinic later about a long angle I'm still trying to figure out what I meant to say but I think it means you hit the ball crosscourt the full length of the Court obtuse angle or acute angle I think both okay definitely not definitely not right no not a right angle backand is short Fritz puts that away into the dece corner forand winner gets us to 305 fifth winner of the night hey Mike I just want to say after that hold from tifo nearly the whole box stood up and then to encourage him and then you don't see this from Francis a lot but quick feet doing some moves behind the Baseline trying to loosen his body up interesting serve out wide misses just long but yeah I think that's just kind of going to show that those nerves were definitely a factor early second serve for Fritz good TFO forand middle Fritz goes backand cross TFO backand cross good angle Fritz backand cross and TFO goes back in up the line running forehand for Fritz is short and good drop shot TFO Fritz there pokes it crosscourt TFO up the line Fritz gets a racket on it but great Court coverage by Francis tifo he's back in this one now it's 30 off now you can hear the support he got for that long run to cover the crosscourt and he found space up the line the drop shot of course triggered all those good things happening big fist pumps towards his team after winning that point walking back to his returned position gritty stuff right now 10 shot rally average rally length under three right now serve good return through the middle Fritz goes into the Open Court lob from TFO is going to miss wide game point here for Taylor Fritz we're starting to open up a little bit here 14 FRS now three of three the times he's moved forward so three Net appearances for Fritz just that one that crucial one for TFO serve at 4030 up the te is into the net you can hear again from that team encouraging TFO to be aggressive here on this second the second is good to a back in TFO great depth Fritz back into a TFO rolled foran Fritz foran cross TFO rolls foran cross with good depth now stepping into a foran up the line Fritz backand gets away from him just a little bit now stepping into a backand cross Cho backand up the line running forehand from Fritz into the net Deuce here at 3-1 yeah that back hand of tifo is money and that's one of the key patterns of play crosscourt who's going to go down the line first on this occasion it was tifo and he did it beautifully and again his team was off the bench all supporting him they're trying to build some momentum here try and pass it on to their man they're going to get a workout guys in that box tonight team TFO do do you get step counts for every time you raise squat squat counts squat count all right your phone does that right I think so sure second serve here for Taylor Fritz at Deuce TFO goes for and up the line sliced back by Fritz lands good tiapo forand back up the line backand from Fritz's into the net Francis TFO has his first break chance of the night yeah good ball into the fritz backend it had to be to break down that shot depth and spin and break point trying to get to two3 get back on serve starts this return about 10 ft behind the Baseline does TFO serve into the net second serve for Fritz good TFO backhand middle Fritz goes backand up the line TFO forand middle ends good Fritz forand to a TFO for and cross Fritz is into the net with his forehand and you heard from Francis T the roar gets this crowd engaged we are back on serve at 32 first set action here on US Open radio presented by American Express [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] Mike Leaf shyris in the booth Nick mccarville is Courtside and and Nick I'm going to need you to keep track of this we just got our first shirt change sir going to count on my fingers and I don't know if I have enough fingers and toes it is shirt change number one that means shirt number two on the Torso of Francis tifo man was he's so pumped up guys from that break and got this crowd engaged that's what Taylor Fritz wanted for himself early but it erases some of that Advantage from the last couple times that they've met indeed it does tifo serving From The Far Side gets his first Ace of the night out wide 110 out wide is not bad 15 love one ace a piece looked just like Le shrus back in the day serve trying to go body misses long did you have 110 uh slider out wide no no not with those small rackets I played with second serve good big Fritz return TFO blocks back a forehand misses just long I think that looked like Continental grip there that he had to stay on and just blocked it missed it by about three Ines yeah I think that was his serve grip obviously the grip he serves with is different from the forehand drive I don't think he had time to change his grip that ball was on him so quickly two 3 15 all first set of this men's semifinal second Ace this time up the T for tifo 36 it's okay that was big it's all right biggest so far of the night 130 for Francis 135 for Taylor Fritz 315 serve for TFO good backand from Fritz L short TFO forehand right at Fritz who throws up a lob TFO overhead sliced it good Fritz forand up the line TFO back in middle Fritz has to chip that back drop shot no Drive slice there from tiapo and Fritz makes him pay what a shot from Fritz that forehand cross gets us to 30 all yeah that was a nice forehand looked like TFO had him off balance but from the right corner deep pulled it crosscourt landed it just inside the line that was money Francis tried to sneak in there guys I I felt like he waited a second too l long though I agree with you and now also we've been talking at the outset about the idea of transition game for TFO he's now 0 for two movement forward this is his first serve long every game has had a 30 all or a dece in it so far second serve good Fritz forand middle TFO Inside Out forand stays back we'll have a backand goes cross Fritz backand cross TFO backand cross Fritz backand middle and short drop shot from TFO into the net shot selection a little bit questionable here these last two points for Francis TFO and Taylor Fritz grabs a break chance yeah he was moving up to the ball and it seemed like suddenly he decided to play that shot I don't think he thought it out obviously these are the decisions you have to make in a micr second and that was not the right one for Fox right now some nervous energy on the face of David wit who is normally so incredibly chill like last couple of claps they're at the opposite ends right now sweaty is Francis TFO serving here 3040 good lob return lands good short forehand put away by Francis TFO as we go to Deuce six games three of them featuring [Music] dues well not surprisingly it's tight that serve he hit 131 that was big set up that high forand winner two three do serve out wide is just wide one of seven on his second serve points say Francis TFO this second serve for him is good Fritz big forand cross TFO forand to a Fritz forand rolled middle drop shot from TFO good britz there with the back hand off the line he slips he's on his bottom and can't come up with it smiling says he's good tiao had come to check on his friend to make sure everything was fine it is it's also a game point now for Francis yeah that's I think something TFO would like to see you know get Fritz in these awkward places in a tennis court charging in for a drop shot not completely comfortable and then recovering trying to get in a good volley position did not handle it well Fritz had been three for three coming forward but it's a different beast when you are brought forward versus when you get to control it I think it's only going to be a standing eight count it wasn't considered a knockdown it was a slip that was he he overs slid there guys yes he did needs needs those skates on try this again with the first serve for big foe serve up the T short return japo inside out for hand puts that one away we're level three all and Francis points at his head and and yeah he's actually asking there he was asking the chair which towel was his and that is kind of an important note considering how much he's sweating Rory mroy is up in the stands huh there's a lot of uh celebrities out here tonight this is a big moment in tennis he was actually uh I believe in Atlanta a couple weeks ago and came to the Georgia Tech tennis facility and practiced a little bit with my my friend Vicky who Who's down there at Georgia Tech three all for Taylor Fritz serve out wide good TFO 4 into a Fritz backhand cross TFO throws up a very high lob it lands good Fritz from the Baseline overhead good TFO backhand cross Fritz goes back in up the line perfectly played what a shot there from Taylor Fritz seventh winner for 15 love yeah Taylor had to win that point a couple of times great defense from tifo that high lob such an effective play reset the point TFO back in it but in the end Taylor Just laser beamed a two-hander up the line four forand winners two backhand winners for Fritz and the ace served two to the body gets a backend into the net does Taylor Fritz and again big return not trying to go for Corners Leaf he's going big into the body with Pace yes and he's he's taking the pace on the return that's coming at him and turning it back on Fritz very wise serf T long second serve here three all 15 all serve is long his first double of the night trouble at 15:30 I can tell you guys court side it just feels like the dynamic has totally shifted Francis cracking a couple big smiles yeah maybe there's been a couple questionable shot choices but that's just Francis he's going to go for things here and and Taylor's looking now like the T one Ser is Good Ship return land short Fritz digs out of backhand backhand pass from TFO misses just wide 30 all you know that was a chance I mean TFO on the two-hander I mean normally he knocks down that pass in his sleep but he pulled it wide well that was a pretty thin needle because you knew that Taylor was not going to be able to get to that backhand line and I think he knew that Fritz was staying in that cross court and had that what 6in window where he was going to be able to hit it has to look two- shot pass combination there yeah at the very least make Fritz volley remember Fritz is not as comfortable up at the net as Fox serve at 30 all just long trying to go t second serve good to a backhand for fo Fritz forand cross TFO forand middle Fritz goes backhand cross TFO backhand up the line running forand from Fritz going to miss well long Francis tifo chance to grab a break lead at 3040 yeah Fritz's last shot in that rally was not a good ball it was left sitting a little bit jao's back end is dangerous at 30 40 serve into the net and that serve percentage dropping about 45% right now for Taylor Fritz second serve good TFO four hand to a Fritz backand middle TFO backand cross Fritz digs out of backand middle TFO backhand cross Fritz backhand middle runaround forehand from TFO is short Fritz backhand cross TFO backhand cross Fritz backhand cross sliced by TFO Fritz digs out of backhand TFO backand up the line running for him for Fritz TFO for an inside out lob from Fritz not going to get there Francis TFO has completely flipped the script from a breakdown to a break up 43 into the ball change here on US Open radio presented by by American Express [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] well this crowd is still pretty animated here despite the fact that we've finished the change over still several of them on their feet looks like another shirt change for Francis TFO as well yeah Mike a couple things for you there actually shirt change so we're now on shirt number three for Foe and how about this this is really cool from the USA bringing out the winners of the boys wheelchair Junior event now of course the senior wheelchair athletes they at the Paralympics in Paris but we had the Bois Junior here and American Charlie Cooper he won the singles which was really cool to see him and then I watched the uh boys doubles earlier today and it was a Dutch Australian pair van Wright and wiel they just got that standing o amazing and and I I should say is Francis serves here at 43 I went out today with our mutual friend Blair Henley we watched some of the Adaptive tennis it's for players uh who have another disability but are not in a wheelchair so that they have an opportunity to play it was just fascinating to watch just incredible skill on display as we're in the midst of this first point here after the ball change forand to forehand we go now a backhand slice from tifo Fritz goes backand cross TFO backhand middle and short Fritz rolls a forehand onto the Baseline now steps into a up to the line backand cross TFO Fritz backand cross quite an angle draws the error out of Francis TFO and Fritz gets it to L 15 yeah Fritz sat down after that last game I am sure and said you've got to start playing Dynamic tennis cuz he was just pushing the ball into play this point he ripped that backhand crosscourt that was one of the best shots he's hit today and Michael Russell up on his feet loud and pumping his fist right at Taylor Leaf I think he had the same message to Taylor those are the points we want you to play a rare hush inside Arthur rash Stadium here 43 love 15 TFO serving up the team Miss is just long and again this second serve has been where he has been extremely vulnerable just 22% two of nine so far second serve at love 15 good critz backhand goes middle TFO rolls a forehand good depth we're going to step into a short ball goes forehand Crossing in behind it volley it's good Fritz backhand volley again from TFO this time through the middle finds his first bit of Joy there at the net with a big smile on his face at 15 all yeah Fritz did not produce the you know the best passing shot one was a Miss hit up the middle that he had another chance on the two-hander and he coughed up a fairly routine volley in the end for Fox we talk about how significant and important coaching is I mean Mike Russell has been hugely instrumental in the success of Taylor Fritz Iron Mike as he's known serve out wide is an ace for TFO indeed and you was such a grinder was Michael Russell completely different style and so many ways from from Taylor Fritz but still looks the part doesn't he oh love Mike Russell his father George Russell taught me some of my first tennis lessons in Milwaukee Wisconsin yeah serve into the net timek also there in Milwaukee I didn't know that got a couple Milwaukee boys right yes yeah second serve is a let yeah the Milwaukee indoor tennis club and sadly it doesn't exist you know some of the indoor clubs went away and sort of shrunk down to two very successful ones right second serve good Fritz goes back in middle TFO back in behind Fritz in behind it volley from TFO couldn't pick that up really good back in to the feet a foe from Prince yeah that time Taylor hit the proper pass he hit it sharply he hit it hard and it was low and it was essentially middle of the court so you're asking the question okay what are you going to do with this cuz I might hurt you on the next one every single game so far has been extremely tight TFO at 30 all serve is a let another first serve coming yeah not a single what we would term easy hold to this stage which would be lover 15 everything to 30 or to a dece or to a break it has been extremely competitive between these two close friends try again here at 30 all serve good for four he in Middle TFO backhand cross misses long Taylor Fritz an opportunity to get the break right back at 3040 guys I'm curious Leaf especially your perspective here as a break point for Fritz is this first that more important for Francis he's played three more hours on court this Us open and then I'm also thinking Leaf of their head to-head good question I mean I don't think it's going to decide the match the first set might be a little more valuable for tifo serve at 30 40 out wide is an ace what do you think Mike I I think it definitely is more important for Francis without question to me because I I on top of it a 127 out wide on that Ace is Fourth of night his emotional roller coaster takes him on so many different Journeys and just getting one in the pocket one less thing he has to worry about later and that's always been part of the equation for him is just staying focused three sets four sets and especially now so with this break lead gets a free point on the deuce side game point for Francis serve good for him Fritz TFO backhand middle and short Fritz forand middle TFO rolls a forand to a backhand for Fritz TFO again rolling it to a Fritz backhand cross that miss is long that's five on the top Trot for Francis tiao here gritty determination once again as he gets it to 53 now this is a fair amount of momentum that TFO has stolen from Fritz cuz this crowd is getting behind him you can feel it and I'm sure Fritz knows it and senses it too so this is a big game he needs to reset here give himself another swing at the fax serve as we talked about at the outset too it's all about the serve so many times for Taylor fritson when he's serving below 50% as he is right now the rest of the game can certainly get away from him serve T is wide 46% before that serve below 45 now second serve good tifo back in up the line return winner for Francis tifo 11 15 and beautiful strike again using a lot of the pace it wasn't a great location to tell you the truth by Fritz it sort of hit Fox right in the racket serve good Fox returned to a Fritz forand cross TFO digs that out off the net back onto his side nearly come up with something spectacular there it's 15 all full player boxes for both understandably so I think I just saw Taylor's dad in the Box returned through the middle for Francis who has to dig out of for him now Fritz goes for an inside out pushed it wide 1530 too two points away from the set yeah Taylor Just pressing a little too hard if he can't hit the winner don't produce the error keep building the point to your advantage and he went just went over the line fit there at 1530 serve T Ace second of the night the other one was in the opening game so again we're at 30 all 116 on that Ace 30 all at 35 From The Far Side serve good TFO forant up the line tried to go for it all missing by about 6 in game point for Fritz definitely see francis's parents there in the box tonight game points serve good return short Fritz for it off the net did it catch the Baseline yes it did tifo was on a dead Sprint into the deuce corner it Clips the net and somehow lands behind him by just a couple of millimet onto the Baseline so Taylor Fritz does force the issue stops the skid 54 here and and Nick mccarville we've got our first Taylor Fritz shirt change coming up here but yeah it does feel quite nervy but it does feel like both guys have settled down into the tennis now well Mike you said that the fritz uh Chipotle order was rather Bland but should we order him one cuz it feels like he what is the order by the way it's I think it's chicken on rice with cheese and sour cream oh wow that's pland wow okay maybe he needs some to fuel up I thought that was a huge game there for Taylor Fritz uh in terms of his body language it have gotten quite negative there and so just to ask the question now of Francis to serve out this first set here's a question for you guys and I I know we followed the first semi-final yanic sinner taking out Jack Draper now Jack Draper was changing his shirt pretty frequently I mean he had a pile of laundry he had a laundry bag that was probably half full of shirts I mean how many shirts were there that had to have been at least eight or 10 well I know Francis has said that he's gone through as many as 20 wow in one of his matches earlier in the week I think was that the Shelton match I uh no that was the previous round that was the or maybe even kovich yeah that was via Blair Henley um I was pretty surpr I mean didn't it just feel like Jack Draper was maybe a little physically off today has has he said that in the Press I don't want to well Brian Clark before the match said that he'd come out for his pre-match interview and absolutely drenched already which made them think that there was something not quite right going in we obviously saw mova also had a bit of an issue herself she called it a bug a couple of days ago so maybe there's something that's going around right now wouldn't be shocking but it seems like these two are pretty locked in right now Francis TFO serving for the set 5-4 From The Far Side misses his first serve long trying to go up the T second serve for TFO good Fritz for him middle TFO backhand cross stays back will get a backhand goes slice Fritz backhand cross TFO backhand cross Fritz goes backhand middle misses long it is 15 left yeah he's going to have to sort of find the range hitting the ball cleanly on the strings but he's not hitting it in the court nine on four stairs for both men five of them have come off the fritz backand out of those nine 15 love TFO taking his time here and a little bit of a distraction in the crowd now ready 15 love it's going to be a let for him service yeah Fritz's nine winners for those nine unforced errors on the other hand Taos had 11 winners for9 on four stairs trying again here with the first serve at 5415 love in this opening set serve good lob return chest wide up the near sideline 30 love 121 out wide there for Francis the tifo serve here at 30 love good chip returns into the net Francis tifo three set points [Applause] serve good up the T rolled returned for hfo Fritz goes backand middle Tapo Coran up the line to a Fritz shank Francis tiapo from a breakdown storms back and takes set number one 64 come back for the second here on us open radio presented by American Express [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] Mike C Leaf shrus in the booth Nick mccarville is cour side just to kind of put a button on what we were talking about with Jack Draper our own Sophie amch did listen to his press conference afterwards which has happened since we were on the air leaf and he did mention that he had anxiety humidity physicality first semifinal and he said it just kind of was The Perfect Storm and it got to him and that was why you saw him unfortunately throwing up on court a couple of times here today and it does make sense but Lea you know we've seen him have some struggles with humidity over the last couple of years and that will be a lingering problem for him until he sorts it I think so I mean think back to Andy Murray in his first couple of Seasons he had a few moments on court where he struggled to get the fitness right and that's a challenge for a young player on the big stage and a lot of it is the pressure these guys feel he said anxiety that's right you can't practice that you got to experience it and then train for that so Fritz is ready to serve to start this second set having to wait here just to let this crowd settle back in here the tifo shirt count is at four Mike I take my job very serious yep that's why we're we're paying you the big bucks to keep track of shirts return my from Frances I guys we said it well I think the trio of us agreed is that that first ser was going to be so lethal for Taylor 53% as they flash up the stats in stadium he can see that serve is good return to a backhand for Fritz that misses wide 15 all and that was actually a little bit improved with that last service game for Taylor Fritz also should be important to note that Francis had the easiest hold of the night when trying to close out at 5'4 which is kind of showing where his nerves have gone from you know really evident to not so much backhand slice from TFO up the line to a Fritz forehand TFO backhand cross Fritz goes back into a TFO backand up the line squash shot from Fritz TFO run around for and Inside Out Fritz there with the backand up the line TFO forand cross Fritz tracks that down drop shot from TIAA wide misses it well wide frce gets it to 315 yeah and I think I like the intention he was trying to put Fritz off balance trying to make him run forward Taylor would rather move side to side Patrol the Baseline and be the boss that time chfo had the idea just didn't execute the drop shot well getting a good look at the big foe change that uh Francis wears around his neck serve good return through the middle Fritz four in Cross TFO for in Cross Fritz rolls for in up the line slice from TFO back in now from Fritz to a TFO backend into the Net game points here for Taylor Fritz [Music] sometimes you do have these little LS early in a second set gain points for Fritz serving out wide misses into the net hard to maintain intensity for long periods here in this type of atmosphere second serve good TFO backhand to a Fritz Inside Out forehand that TFO will let Sail by it's a winner for Francis off the for excuse me for Fritz off the Francis backhand so Fritz gets it to one love here in this second set and indeed that's the first easy hold that he's had on the night and we do have lulls in a match but for Taylor Fritz because he's lost that opening set I sense there's a little more urgency in his side of the net of course his family's here we mentioned Mike Russell his coach his mom Kathy May she was a former top 10 WTA player you talk about All in the Family his dad guy a player coach his Uncle Harry Fritz left-hander played Canadian Davis Cup love one here for tifo serve out wide FRS through the middle misses long and Mike you know we were talking about the physical challenges today for Jack Draper and then I'm thinking last night back to Jessica Pula and she was frozen in that first set it doesn't feel as though Taylor Fritz has fully felt relaxed out here just yet this is his first major semifinal serve his good Fritz rolls return long and that it's an excellent point because again until you're on that stage and you've experienced it a couple times you don't know what those feelings are going to be like it can be fine it can also be a little bit nervy 30 love serve here for TFO T good it's an ace gain points here for Francis who has five Aces to just two for Fritz 40 love serve good chip return land short TFO forehand to a running forehand for Fritz that's shanked well wide and long I'm going to have to do some math here what is that nine straight points on serve 11 actually straight points on serve for Francis tifo dating back to the 4-3 service game it's one all here in the second yeah he's got the momentum going on ser and that's a nice Rhythm to have because you can serve a little bit of energy save it so you can get your return game going you need that energy to react quickly to these bombs coming at you that Fritz delivers Ser for Fritz up the te is elette number four in the ATP Tour this year in his serve rating for Taylor Fritz serve good it's an ace for him and starting to pick it up here starting five of his first six for serves in this second set 131 up the te there again his fastest actually the fastest for both guys is at 135 TFO backhand return to a Fritz inside out for H serf plus one 30 love this is feels like a very different set already breezing through a couple of service games possibly three seventh forand winner for Fritz on the night 12 total 30 Love sered T good lob return Fritz goes forand up the line backhand from tfos into the net 40 love yeah this is how Fritz would like to play his service games right big serve and then he's got some time on the next ball and he can deal out that powerful shot off the forehand Wing serve T Ace well after all of those games was a total of yeah nine games that either had 30 all or deuce or a break and then now we've had four straight where only one return Point has been won in the last four service games yeah pretty remarkable that's that's the nature of a tennis match you're going to have your swings of momentum and your lulls with the play Just calms down a bit just looking at some of the the figures about all Americans in Grand Slam men's single semifinals Andre Agy taking on Robbie jany 2005 US Open semi-final remember that one Robbie jany playing great tennis went to five sets and Agy beat him it's amazing ji also having a big role in Francis tfo's development exactly I think that's really nice now working a little bit with Alex mikkelson Young American who's starting to make a good push into a final a couple of weeks ago in Winston Salem I I think has got a wonderful future certainly one of the American players to watch just like these guys were 5 six years ago these this is the future of American tennis well the future is now I'm wondering what do you guys think you know we've been talking a lot internally here this US Open about the Americans and especially the American men Leaf as you bring it up but how big can this be for tennis culturally it feel is this a moment is this a a true sort of cultural shift for the sport I think it could be I I feel like us tnis needs sort of that that big dog at the top a top 10er who's being around playing for these big trophies and inspiring and touching and impacting a generation of tennis players not that these guys haven't done wonderfully but a little more of the 10 to 20 it' be nice if we get someone in the top 10 raising big trophies well listen I I think it started right and and we talked about it yesterday with the mix doubles final the fact that Taylor Townsen was talking about you know Francis what Donald young did over those years and obviously Koko as the defending champion from a year ago I I'll be honest with you though Nick I think it means more if it's Francis who wins yeah more so than Taylor I I hate to say that but Francis being a little bit more of a dynamic personality who's going to be a little bit more willing to go on the late night talk shows and have that personality that shows he and coko as Grand Slam champions would be a huge thing for American tennis yeah no doubt about that quickly here to 30 love at this one-w juncture in the second set serve just long TFO able to catch that return with his left hand before the second serve which goes to a forand for Fritz TFO forand middle Fritz forand into the corner TFO forand cross Fritz digs that out but going to miss well long gain points here for Francis TFO of these two Francis is the superior mover by any measure one thing that Taylor does well when he gets in the corners he's got great hands so he's able to produce shots even if he's not in great position with his legs lob return just clearing the net tifo will just drop it over the other side off of his forehand volley that's that's really good for the stats a very nice easy net point one there to get us to two games all well I'm interested in your thoughts Nick because you have that ability you travel so much around the world and I know you saw what Coco the impact she had at the Olympics just a couple weeks ago what's your thoughts on these two men and and what it might mean worldwide well and watch the greatness of what Simone biles has done for gymnastics I mean neither of these guys are suddenly going to be the goat of this sport but I I think to have an American man like Leaf said going consistently for Grand Slam trophies here's a backhand crosscourt from Fritz draws the air from tifo I think it's huge and look it historically for black American men in this sport France is trying to be the first since m Washington Wimbledon in ' 96 first since Arthur Ash in 72 to get to a major final that means something for young kids who are looking up and wanting to succeed in this sport too absolutely it does mis return from tifo gets it quickly to 30 love Arthur as also the first US Open Champion 1968 right about the time I had his poster on my wall serve out wide off of the frame of tifo I had a leaf shrus poster on my wall too Mike where did you find that that would have been good I'd like to have seen that but that was only three years ago so was that right next to the ferof faucet poster I remember that one I do too game points here for Taylor Fritz at 40 love two all here in the second second serve good TFO backhand cross going to miss wide and long guys we are struggling to find return points right now 32 in the second one return. one this set that's got to change at some point here on US Open radio presented by American Express [Music] [Music] Justin thorough is Courtside one of the stars of the new Beetle juu movie you going to go watch the new Beetlejuice let's go talk about a cultural moment guys I might I enjoyed the original I did too turn up the line Miss Long Nick mccarville I I I know you and I are about the same age I mean that was a cultural Touchstone for us in the late ' 8s love Beetle Juice absolutely 15 love here for Francis TFO serving here 2 three now 30 love Miss return here for Taylor Fritz this is um so much drama early and this is ho hum in this second set so far there's going to be a flurry at some point 30 love serve into the net for Francis he served nine of his first 11 Fritz 10 of 13 in the set second serve good Fritz four hand off the net and good TFO has to just block it back Fritz back hand to TFO rolled forand prins forand through the middle same for TFO backhand frits tifo goes big for in Cross squash shot Fritz TFO has to come up but that squash shot was into the net 40 love yeah there was some nasty crosscourt Pace behind that forehand from TFO Taylor normally so good in the corners tried to slide into the forehand just could not get enough of it how about sliding on a hard cord Mike it happens now it's crazy I think I would break every bone in my legs if I tried to do that at this stage of my life missed first serve don't try that at home no trouble sliding on Clay let alone The hardcourt Returned crosscourt TFO digs that out misses wide that is the first return Point Taylor Fritz has won here in this set just an extension really isn't it of how the game there's some defensive qualities that make it difficult to attack players even on a fast hard court and one of them is sliding into their shots 405 serve up the T returned through the middle TFO rolls forand Inside Out Fritz slice forehand from TFO and draws an error out of Taylor Fritz three all into a ball change here looks like TFO is going to go get a new stick out of the bag as well and I think we are seeing a a subtle shift from the defensive qualities of Rafael nadala Novak jokovic to more of an aggressive stylings of Carlos algr and yanic CER I think the game is getting a little past that defensive type of game I don't think it's subtle at all I think we are on to a new game and I think frankly Novak has had to adapt right obviously and obviously physical problems for him this year but you know just talking to some coaches nowadays they say it just feels different than even two or three years ago and and you mention it what Carlos has done what yanic has done in terms of just bringing pace and all out aggression all the time we are seeing a pretty drastic SE change in my opinion here and it's it's translating I do a lot of Challengers and you're just seeing a lot of ball bashing and sometimes some pretty ugly matches because players are going for their shots more and more 15 love here second serve for Fritz good to a TFO back in Cross that misses nobody can make returns right now yeah I mean if you can play with power and obviously these new strings and the rackets are so Advanced that you can swing at the ball pretty aggressively and make it go in consistently so you've got a good start Ser out wide misses wide again I think a lot of it has to do with analytics too just the fact that if you're able to hit that pace with a good big Target you're having a lot more joy as Taylor Fritz does there Ser Plus One forand winner 40 love we're averaging about about 120 per game right now in the second set serve Fritz into the net and by that I mean a minute to 20 not 120 M hour on these serves second serve good TFO backing up the line that's going to be missed it's another hold to love it's 43 I mean we're 19 minutes into the set 43 this is wild and again so different than what we saw in that first set which went 45 minutes and at the highest of levels it looks like Fritz is sending I don't know if you can hear this Nick is Fritz sending a racket back right now yeah he's just asking no he's just telling Damien diasis on the chair that he wants the same same tension okay just wants a a fresh stick as they just yeah they're clarifying with him too he said Same Same there so yeah how it's been such a different it's felt like a different match in this second set I'm hoping it's going to lead us to some fireworks in the second set but it's felt like it's been more played the frit style this set even though Francis also holding quite well I will say I've just spotted Savannah Guthrie Courtside okay she's a big tennis fan Roger Federer fan as well she followed me on Twitter and I I got all a flutter for just a couple minutes really yeah no that probably was a mistake congratulations thank you very much Nick thank you she might have thought you were someone else I don't know I can't blame her I look a lot like Jason nap one of our colleagues so maybe she thought it was Jason nap uh Francis is sending a stick out too it's um somehow there's confusion as to where the racket goes is goes to the stringers guys yes there's another shirt change that's shirt number five and incredible now the assistant official is going to take the TFO and Fritz both conditions haven't really changed I think they just want fresh strings to choose from too so we're just over 60 minutes into this match five shirt changes so that's an average of what every 12 minutes or something 12 minutes oh great math Le well it is there a possibility of him needing to do laundry I I'm being dead serious here when I mean 20 shirts is extensive and he's already through five what happens if we get to a fifth set will he have enough to go we'll find out big voice guy Nick mccarville joining myself Le shrus says TFO goes big Ace up the te 15 love third Ace of the set for Francis seventh of the night 15 love at 34 in the second serve good Fritz foran to a TFO foran into deduced Corner squash shot TFO puts away a Voli High backhand finish into the ad Corner 30 love I've cracked open the popcorn here court side I'm sharing it with our good friend Nick Lester I'm willing this to be a popcorn fight Setter it could be serve out wide good Fritz return to a tifo back in Cross he pulled it wide this is as big of an opportunity as we have had here in this second set and it's 3015 I could also use some popcorn Nicks so if you're if you're buying yeah and I'm waiting for my honey Deuce so I'll get Kenny on that he has got nothing else to do right now back in the back serve up the te lob return TFO goes backand cross backand for Fritz to TFO back in up the line clean as a whistle it's another winner for him number 17 on the night 405 yeah TFO has not been losing many points on serve he's only lost is it two points on serve and Fritz has lost what one point on surve here in this set forehand from tifo clean winner there yeah so so Fritz Fritz held to 15 uh in the first game of this set he has won 15 consecutive points on serve tifo at one point had 18 straight points on serve it's wild you don't see that happening every day big fist pump and talking to himself there Francis I think he really wants to try to get this first point here serve Fritz into the net and let's see if he tries to do a little bit more with the second serve return Fritz is six for six on his second serves here in the set serve good TFO backhand middle Fritz rolls a forehand to a TFO forand rolled middle and short Fritz forand finishes into the dece corner I roll from TFO 15 love yeah that ball landed halfway up the service box so it got what it deserved as Taylor Just crunched it for the winner 16th straight point on serve making at 17 it's an ace for Fritz out wide third of the set fifth of the night 30 love can he match Francis TFO for longest streak on serf francis's was dating back to the 4-3 service game through his 23 service game of the second Ser Fritz into the net trying to go t didn't realize we were getting John nner and Evo Carlovich out here tonight second serve good TFO forand middle and short now has a forehand rolled deep Fritz forand cross TFO forand middle runaround forand for Fritz to a TFO forand cross Fritz forand up the line TFO backhand cross Fritz goes back in up the line running forand TFO Fritz has to block a backand drop shot from TFO Fritz there with a back end off the net and good can TFO get there yes he can but it's into the [Applause] net yeah the crowd was expecting something remarkable to happen there and it just didn't happen for tifo like the drop shot though Francis had a play on this guys yeah he had more than a play and I think oh he did he went no look he went a little bit no look there on that drop shot that time it was Taylor who was smiling back at Francis serve up the te is well long trying to slide that one for an ace second serve here at 4 love it for all good TFO forehand inside out to a Fritz backend TFO forand crosses into the net this is ludicrous right now 54 in the second making it 19 consecutive points one on Ser for Taylor Fritz 19 W that's well you sit down feeling pretty comfortable and he should be feeling relaxed on his return games but we haven't seen him make any impression on the tfos Ser really so little surprising that well neither R has been able to get it going and these guys know each other well so they have an understanding of the kind of balls that are coming at him on Ser as of the moment neither of them are making it happen TFO has generated 65 break chances through his five matches Fritz with 48 and obviously fewer sets for Fritz along the way as well but seeing neither one generate anything here in this second set not even a threat neither one of them has won two points in a return game is yeah just kind of happens this way from time to time and just feels a little bit awkward and uncomfortable and again the crowd trying to find something to get a little bit excited about as well and so TFO is the one who's going to have to deal with the scoreboard pressure down the stretch and you wonder if that does play a role here Le yeah suddenly absolutely cuz this is the set game now and that's why the first point suddenly becomes kind of important and we'll see if Fritz could as I said if it's not the first serve the second serve he can make something happen with well and one interesting dynamic in the second set I think too is that because of the way these games have gone it's kind of taken the crowd out of it guys I mean they're interested but they haven't had a lot to cheer about and actually think that it is a little bit Advantage Taylor here fully agree with you on that Nick mccarville court side for this one is Francis TFO serving to stay in the set 45 26 minutes into the set serve good TFO goes backhand middle Fritz backhand cross TFO backhand cross Fritz backhand cross misses long it's 15 love both guys showing a little bit of frustration as well with some of these unforced errors early in points although Fritz has had a pretty clean set just two unfor stairs for him with eight winners serve at 15 love good up the T rolled return good TFO forand cross Fritz has to squash shot that back TFO Inside Out forand Fritz goes backhand cross TFO backhand middle Fritz backhand middle runaround forand for TFO who's going to have to run to a forehand up the line misses long it's 15 all yeah that might be a significant moment right there just getting a second Point getting to 15 All Andy rodic is here he has been so good about talking about how he doesn't want to be that history note the last American to win a grand slam the last American to be in a grand slam fight final I think he's very happy to pass that torch 45 15 all serve misses long does tifo 2006 rodic was US Open finalist second serve for TFO good Fritz big forehand return winner here it is the moment for Taylor Fritz as he gets it to 1530 again first serve you're defending as a returner second serve well you've got the green light if you got time you can pick a Target and that's just what Fritz did Unleashed a forehand crosscourt you can hear This Crowd surging to meet the moment serve T good it's an ace for Francis tifo eighth of the night 30 all both boxes being really vocal Michael Russell and his whole Squad standing up for Taylor at that 1530 still has a look at 30 all TFO from the near side good to a backand Fritz TFO has to dig that out Fritz goes back in up the line off the net and good TFO forehand cross Fritz slices that up the line runaround forehand for TFO off the net good Fritz there up the line back hand from TFO Bali Fritz TFO for him misses long and Taylor Fritz as tiapo goes into the photographers pit Fritz is going to have the first break chance of this set and it will serve as a set [Applause] point yeah that was an exceptional exchange tifo was scrambling trying to make something happen Taylor Fritz a diving backhand volley turned into a drop shot that tifo could not track down hit the passing shot over the Baseline and a fairly acrobatic move in the end of it at 304 that point serve good into the body what a body serve right at the belly butt of Taylor frz as we go to Deuce Francis tifo has served at 83% in this set remarkable stuff four five Deuce serve out wide Fritz forehand to a TFO backhand cross in behind it lob Fritz volley winner for kako into the dece corner pumping that fist with a game point the excellent recognition of the chance to take the next ball in the air the backhand crosscourt set it up quickly in and that's a floating ball right on top of the net it was easy in the end yeah this crowd has been aching for a couple of these moments in this set game point tifo serve long trying to go t second serve for tifo good prin forand up the line Miss is long and you hear that Roar from Francis TFO a big come on towards his team fights off that set point five all getting some instruction right now from David Whit let's see if we can hear it not quite yeah they just had quite the direct chat there it wasn't to Long the intensity ratcheted up here in the last couple minutes but it's 19 straight points on serve for Taylor Fritz here five all misses his first serve out wide second serve for Taylor Fritz that is good to a forand for TFO Fritz backhand cross lands good TFO backing up the line running forand Fritz running squat shot from TFO Fritz forehand up the line perfect excellent point destruction it's 15 left it really it really was a great point from Fritz and Tifa when when you play the ball up the line let's wait here for second Taylor Fritz came up to Damen Dumas SWAT Nick were you able to hear any of that no I I wasn't Mike it was a fairly brief conversation yeah he looked behind him I'm not sure sure who or what he was gesturing at serve up the te is long second serve for Fritz that is good to a tiao forehand into the net that's a very aggressive second serve right off of the service line for 30 love sorry Mike I just took my headset off there for a second Mariam Bari here with Sky Sports and she was saying Taylor just asking jumas swwa for more towels inter way too sweaty serve out wide good TFO forand Fritz digs out of back end running backend from TFO is a very good one Fritz was waiting easy comfortable volley this is 22 straight points on serve you don't see that every day D this guy's really taking care of business and again nice to see him finishing at the net serve good TFO chip return short Fritz finishes into the dece corner on the forehand side that's a lot of FS but a mark across the board on serve for Taylor Fritz right now 23 straight points with a 65 lead in the second on US Open radio presented by American Express n [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] TFO said he's probably playing the best tennis of his life right now he's in a little bit of a hole here in this 56 service game coming out right now with yes another shirt change I see Nick mccarville with his microphone and oh that lovely cardigan stop it is I will say it's about to dip under 70° F here it's only going to get cooler but the humidity 84% and the players just once you get your body moving right guys any of us mere pedestrians would know once you start sweating it just takes over your body that's the sixth shirt now on Francis tfo's back there's a lot of dirty laund right behind the bench there sure is Francis TFO at 56 serving From The Far Side serve good Fritz returned through the middle TFO inside out for him Fritz digs out of back end oh that's a beauty off the frame of Francis tifo this is actually the first deficit here second deficit of 1530 and now a 15 in these last two service games some real trouble here for Francis TFO who's moving very quickly love 15 serve out wide is just wide I'm a bit surprised he's moving this quickly in between points right now second serve good Fritz goes back in middle TFO rolls a forand Fritz forand up the line slice from TFO Fritz inside out for him good he moved up to the service line he's two points away from this second set yeah and you sense a little injection of energy from Taylor Fritz suddenly he was moving quickly to get himself arranged Ed around the short backand and he finds the Inside Out forehand he finds himself at love 30 maybe just maybe could steal the set right here remember he had one set point in the last game TFO Ser 56 love 36 straight points W by Taylor Fritz right now serve misses out wide see what Fritz does here starts about maybe 5 six feet behind the Baseline now stepping forward second serve oh it's well long double fault is the first of this set for tifo three set points fritzo not going to wait for this crowd to settle he serves into the net what a disaster of a game this has been for Francis tifo second serve it love 40 good Fritz backhand middle TFO goes backhand middle Fritz run around forand sliced by TFO Fritz forand up the line running backand tiapo Fritz B right back behind him and Taylor Fritz snagging this second set 75 indeed injecting some energy late had multiple opportunities and this best of five has become best of three come back for the third set here on Us open radio presented by American Express [Music] [Music] mation Le shus in the booth Nick M Carville Courtside and and Nick I'm I'm still a little bit flabbergasted by the fact that we've seen Taylor Fritz win 23 consecutive points on serve without a major adjustment here from Francis TFO in terms of what he's trying to do return wise we never saw him make that big emotional push to try to maybe get the crowd involved it kind of felt flat down the stretch there in the second from TFO yeah Mike and then he blinked right at 56 I mean 45 he fought off that set point and and got this place alive but then just threw in a total stinker of a game in that 12 and then the huge fist pump and a command from Taylor Fritz didn't really emote towards the crowd but now we draw even in this match and yeah that that was a little strange to me it did feel like was that the nerves coming back in for Francis TFO I'm not totally sure but it felt like he mentally checked out in that game there were a couple moments through that set where he didn't when he went down 30 love in a return game where he didn't really comport himself incredibly well to try to find one return point along the way to kind of snap that streak and Fritz just felt more and more comfortable and Taylor is serving to start this third set backand up the line will miss long that ends the streak at 23 because of a backhand error for Taylor Fritz yeah remarkable run he's had what an opportunist one really good game to break and that's how the set Was Won cuz there wasn't much in it at love 15 serve off the net and long second serve for Taylor Fritz from the near side service into the net it's a double fault just the second of the night for him didn't have one obviously through that second set but man he's put himself in some trouble here very quickly in the third love 30 it's from the near side serve well long almost hits Francis TFO on the Fly second serve good TFO forand middle kind of passive there now Francis gets the forand goes cross frit goes forand cross TFO forand middle frce forand middle good depth now having to run for a forand goes cross TFO forand middle rolled Fritz forand to a TFO forand cross up the line from Fritz backhand cross from tifo stays back at the Baseline now goes drop shot towards the outside Fritz there up the line TFO forehand back behind Fritz who's got a volley TFO backand Fritz another volley Taylor Fritz with the goods at the net he's 13 of 14 up in the Box 1530 one of the best points of the match and you thought Francis tifo first had done enough with the drop shot he had some space to pass instead it was Fritz who cut off the volley and in the end he cleaned up the forehand volley into the open court that was a thing of beauty I thought it was a mistake guys there for Francis to try to go behind Taylor after the drop shot go cross on the pass he had the space he did indeed serve out wide lob return is short Fritz forand TFO there forand off the net and good Fritz Inside Out forand TFO backand pass are you kidding me an absolute Dart for Francis tiapo he's got two chances at 1540 that was incredible I think the most amazing thing was how quickly Tifa got over to this ball I mean he got a good jump he got there early Taylor had no chance as that ball went by him like a blur serve at 1540 good but it will be a lent Taylor guys yelling up at his Camp just frustrated I think by the net cord midpoint and then by the situation at 1540 again with the first serve what a slider out wide High in the Box 1058 for Taylor Fritz it's always interesting isn't it whenever you break serve you're always a little bit vulnerable in your next service game and that's just what tifo is knocking on the door for here breakpoint number two with Fritz serving T good get a forand goes cross TFO for up the line oh my that injection of pace allows Francis TFO to get a quick one love break lead here in the third that's after losing 23 consecutive return points and then just says no problem yep I'm going to do it right here and he had a ball suddenly out of nowhere just crushed it up the line Fritz was nowhere near it I'm going to go back to it though and and was talking about it with Nick there for a second Leaf the the fact that there were a couple times when it got to 30 love on Fritz's serve through that second where TFO just kind of let the next two points happen 40 love just let the ball go where he could have run and tried to accumulate and grow something he never quite did and so that's why this injection of energy back here and this has been a bit of an issue for Francis since the Inception of his professional career just staying locked in for the entirety of three sets or five sets and kind of just has those mental lapses for bits of time he does go in and out a little bit up and down that's something that Wayne Ferrero really tried to focus on I remember during training sessions he tried to you know I'm no more phone Francis when we're training get the phone out of there that was one small step to him trying to focus him for longer periods of time even in training and that was one small step to get to position like this one love for TFO from the near side did that catch the line yes it did so it'll be a let here first serve upcoming for tifo and even before that Jane he just said the one thing he wanted early in francis's Challenger career he's just like you have to finish in two kid right have to that was a real Focus the second set the first four or five games they just said pour everything into that second set and see what you can do from there second serve here for tifo with one love good to a Fritz back in TFO drop shot that's going to be pulled wide points to his head does tifo not thrilled with the decision-making process there for big fo it's love 15 I feel like it's just showing you the mental sort of work that Francis is doing in each game that break and then he just kind of has a a hiccup or you know some sort of error that comes out of nowhere serve T net and long second serve for TFO good backand Fritz TFO digs out of backand middle Fritz rolled forand to TFO forand Fritz goes backhand cross that floats to a TFO backand cross that's a laser draws the error out of Taylor Fritz for 15 off you guys have concerns I I'll start with you leaf and obviously just in the middle of this early part of the third set do you have concerns about yanx Sinner's left wrist and what impact that might have on Sunday I think everyone has to be a little concerned about that forand to forehand trade right now Fritz Yanks a forand wide yeah he had he was scrambling for ball in the back of Court landed sort of on his backside but also anchored it with his left wrist and that's where he sort of injured it trainer addressed it seemed to be okay but obviously you're going to be thinking about that how's it going to shake down in a couple days yeah we're going to be I'm sure we're going to have a lot of people out watching to see if yanxin practices on one of the practice courts outside of Ash tomorrow serve TFO good backhand Fritz TFO goes for and cross pulls that wi it's 30 all that being said yaner back into another grand slam final 4 and one versus tifo 1 and one against Fritz Life Time One Love 30 all early in the third set one set a piece Serv is into the net second serve for big foe is good to a forand for Fritz goes cross TFO digs out a forand can he get this backand yes he can Fritz stepping in big forand Inside Out TFO backand behind him Fritz backand up the line running forand for TFO Fritz has to take that out of the air now a drop shot from TFO Fritz backand up the line TFO forehand cross good that drop shot finally paying off as he comes up with a clean winner on that forehand side a game point for TFO yeah the drop shot testing Fritz again Fritz has to take it up the line here and that leaves Taylor excuse me Francis with time a Target and he converts it how about the Baseline volley from Taylor frits yeah was that ball going out it was going to be very close I I I know as a coach I'd much rather have my guy take that out of the air rather than risk it on a big spot like that game point TFO serve into the net trying to go out wide has struggled with the serve percentage here two of six in this game game point second serve good Fritz rolls the forehand TFO drop shot again through the middle of the Court Fritz there with a forand misses into the net well this is an interesting development what was that three Drop shots in that game yeah and I I I actually like the play I really do I mean if you can again make Taylor run make him expand a lot of energy when you have the lead that way he has to invest physically just to get back even unict unpredictable that's what Jordy Aran says unpredictable well the drop shot is pretty unpredictable all right so Fritz in a bit of a hole here love two From The Far Side serve out wide is long second serve here for Taylor Fritz good to a forehand for TFO that he completely Miss hits goes straight down 15 love Francis was asked about some of his memories of his time with Taylor and Tommy earlier in their career said he and Tommy Paul used to make bets on who could beat Taylor Fritz faster when they were 14 and who won Mike uh uh Francis Francis was able to come through but then you see the word that Taylor Fritz put in over the next four years got a lot faster was very slow and plotting at that age Fritz goes back in Cross to a tifo backhand up the line Fritz goes back up that same line misses well long off the forand side 315 now yeah that backhand line was such an impactful shot in the opening set haven't seen much of it in the second little bit more in the third 305 serve here for Fritz up to T good TFO forehand now steps into a backhand drop shot again Fritz there with the backand Deep TFO backhand to a Voli from Fritz drop shot TFO backing up the line Fritz B right through tifo for 4015 yeah both men right on top of the net really Fritz again doing well at the net improved net play has been a feature of Fritz's play tonight that's for certain some of the best FES I think I've seen him hit and that one helped him get that point that's four Drop shots in the last two games here from Francis TFO trying to indeed be that unpredictable self Fritz though with game points to get on the scoreboard here in the third serve clock is at one gets the toss up serve is long first time that that serve clock has really come into play here on the night second serve for Taylor good up the T get a backand goes up the line to a squash shot from TFO that misses just wide Taylor Fritz gets on the scoreboard but big foe in control of this third set early 21 with a break on US Open radio presented by American Express [Music] [Music] Mike leav shrus joining you in the broadcast booth for this semifinal don't forget of course women's final tomorrow 4:00 Pula sabalenka will have coverage starting at 3:00 with a pregame show also the men's doubles final we'll get that started at 11:30 tomorrow Leaf what were your first times getting to see these two guys on the come up if you will well I live in Southern California so I saw Taylor you know sort of locally and regionally playing and he was always impressive for his ball striking I wasn't sure if athletic he he would be able to grow as much as some of his Pros have but he's made magnificent strides in that regard definitely maximizing what he Haso serving here 21 serving up the te has new balls in his pocket as well always had a great two-handed back back and it came so naturally to him second serve good Fritz forand middle TFO backhand cross Fritz tracks that down backand up the line TFO forand cross britz tracks that down but that lob will miss long it is 15 love and do you remember the first time you saw Francis and that unorthodox style well you know I was in uh Del Rey Beach with him when he won his first title and that was kind of a breakthrough moment to get to know him and and see him succeed and have success like that at a high level serve T good frce return to a TFO forand cross Prince again will miss a forehand long stretching for that one always so impressive in the interview his postmatch and after winning the title I can remember he had a Washington Castle's cap on his loyalty DC and the world team tennis franchise of Mark yeah he takes a lot of pride in DMV and of course the jtcc where he has trained for so many years second serve for him here at 30 love serve good Fritz back in to a tifo back in rolled Fritz back in Cross TFO goes back in middle run around forehand for Fritz TFO back behind him to a back end for frit it's into the net and I think it's also been so hard for him to play in Washington as a result much more pressure on him in Washington than it is in New York I think yeah I I think there's an expectation when he's there that he's you know going to raise the trophy one year and that's not easy that that kind of pressure game points here for tifo ser out wide lob return will land short TFO for an inside in into the dece corner hold to love first easy hold of this third set as we get to 31 I mean Roger feder always played in one of his home quote unquote home tournament in bosel what did he win it 10 times or something might have been nine or 10 times it's it's difficult to win titles to win tournaments yes and to put that pressure on a person from your Lo sort of your local area that's even more I do a podcast with Noah ruin who was never in danger of winning this particular title Leaf but he always said even in the first couple rounds this being home he's from Long Island he said the amount of pressure that goes into securing tickets who's going to be in the Box all of those things when you have so many people beating down your door it makes it such a complicated situation 15 love missed first serve here from Fritz who is serving from the near side here at 13 second serve for Taylor is good just off the service line has a forehand goes inside out in behind it doesn't need to make a volley that was a clean forehand winner 14th of the night 30 love yeah he's a producer of Power Tennis and even from behind the Baseline he was fairly Center in the court he's able to hit the ball through the court and through one of the fastest guys in the world love serve good back in return forand cleaned up by Fritz now has a backend goes cross with it TFO back in up the line Fritz has the squash shot that is again that backand line that does some real damage out of nowhere 305 it just seems like that shot comes so naturally to him so easily he takes the racket back and just holds it there and suddenly boom I don't think you see that coming 3 15 serve out wide chip return into the net [Applause] it's funny because on his forehand tafo has a fairly big takeback on the backand it's fairly compact you know it just seems like he's never going to be late on that shot 4015 in game points serve out wide TFO returns that into the middle as we get to 3-2 Midway through this third set and I I'll tell you the first time I saw Francis and I talked a little bit about it at the the outset at a challenger it was in Sarasota Florida I think memory serves that year we also had a young Sasha ver playing Michael Mo was there as well that class it was you saw some real players Diego schwarzman in that tournament as well I mean you you had some real talent there but we all just came out and saw this young kid everybody was hyping him up and he just had this very awkward looking forehand and you just said to yourself how is this guy a top five Junior in the world with that he had a coach there with him who was um he was enjoying the scenery if you will will and had a couple drinks and he was bragging to everybody about Francis tifo and we're like okay I guess so and and and sure enough he went quarterfinal that week in Sarasota the next week in Savannah a semi-final and then a final in Tallahassee Florida where he reached his first final at the Challenger level first top 100 win there against fundo bagnes Clay Court specialist and excellent Argentine yeah Leander you just knew that this guy was something special even though it was such an awkward looking stroke yeah and his forehand I mean I know the word was we used to call it the wiggle right quote on quote the wiggle cuz he had it in the takeback where the racket head was moving around it's like uh-oh he might have to edit that a little bit and he has it has it's gotten shorter it's gotten more compact it's still uh a lot bigger as you said than that backhand swing but compared to where it was in say 2015 night and day different Mike I'm I'm much the similar of when I was at say today as a newspaper reporter uh I remember going to one of the backc Courts at Roland garos at the French Open and I had the exact same thought of you of what is this forehand and also what is that walk right right that waddle that we're all so used to one has changed guys one not so much 3-2 here for Francis missed his first serve second's good Fritz goes big forehand right into the middle of the net for 15 love that is the 21st unreturned serve for tifo on the night Fritz has 25 UNR returned serves both guys about 30% in that category serve off the net and wide second serve here 3215 love in the third serve is good Fritz backend goes to a back end for tifo who now has to run to a forehand goes cross Fritz forehand cross going to be pushed long CL love heard Michael Russell there very faintly in the background saying stay down on that forehand side it's been a really clean match for Taylor Fritz serve at 30 love good no just long second serve up coming he's plus 10 in the winners to unforced air count that's a very good ratio and he could be on the wrong end of a two sets to one deficit although TFO just threw in a double first to the set fourth of the night 305 now that's going to be a really hard pill to swallow if he ends up at about plus 10 winners to unforced erors and still down two sets to one yeah that's never good but sometimes the numbers will won't tell you the story serve T Good Ship return going to be short getting points here for Francis TFO hour 48 into this one just five of 14 serves in the set TFO serve good Fritz forand to a TFO backand back behind Fritz who rolls that forehand long six of 15 on his first serves no problem he's got the brink lead here 4 two yeah TFO just didn't seem to be completely present in that second set but Bo he woke up out of that nap got the break in the opening game and now up 42 so he's got it going and it's up to Fritz to take care of his serve see if he can get back in this From The Far Side at 24 serves just long trying to go out wide at 112 second serve for Taylor good backhand up the line to a Fritz backand cross TFO backhand up the line off the net and good Fritz forehand to TFO backand cross Fritz backhand volley for TFO to the dece corner running forand Fritz TFO there and misses into the net took his eye off of it there guys I think he thought he had made it before it was actually over the net he had a wide open court to hit to Fritz was not even going to run back into the court oh my little bit of a lapse there for Francis tifo 15 left serve good Fritz goes backand to TFO inside out forand now TFO backand up the line to a Fritz forand middle TFO forand cross Fritz goes forand into the net it's 15 all although it should be love 30 yeah Fritz I think has to be careful with his forehand down the line because TFO takes that ball on his backand and just rips it across and suddenly Fritz is running which is not a good place for him to be in serve out wide tfo's return misses well long and the down the line it's one of the most important shots in tennis particularly off the backhand wing for the men and the women on tour Tao hitting it well at the right times Fritz maybe not doing it enough at the right times tonight serve good up the te gets a backand goes cross stays back however now Fritz backhand cross once again Tifa was leaning off to his right going to cover a backhand line instead that backhand had some heat to it backhand winner to 415 yeah Fritz's Best Shot most dependable and it's heavy the two-hander crosscourt revolutions on that ball were just incredible to watch game points here serve good TFO foran just misses up the line so that comfortable little hold gets us to 43 starting to cruise here in this third set on US Open radio presented by American Express [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] job right now for Taylor Fritz in the midst of this change over has successfully regripped during the 60 seconds it's not bad well one of the great reg grippers of all time Rashard gase the Frenchman is retired so we won't see him changing grips on every single change over well listen he had it easy because he didn't do the full regrip exactly he only went halfway up the grip yeah that's cheating that was pretty Pro stuff though that was he knows what he's doing yeah good mik are you saying that he doesn't know how to grip a racket no I'm saying he does but he he doesn't know how to do the full thing I think if you get him past about 4 in on that grip he's completely lost serve up the teas is Good from Francis TFO coming to a lob that did not get to the net that was a huge game guys that hold from Fritz I I know it's just I just think the difference of 52 and 43 here these guys are pressing each other Fritz wants to get back even in the set and inde he does 15 love however here in this 4-3 service game good body serve gets a free point and I I do need to slightly correct you here rard gas in fact playing tomorrow semi-final of a Challenger is he yes he is where that is in uh casis well my mistake so still going has wins over antoan beler Tian Dr in the quarterfinals earlier today 63 in the third so he's still plugging along rard backand to backand right now now Francis opens up with the forehand squash shot Fritz inside out for hand from Francis TFO for 40 love I am going to miss that one-handed back end though haven't seen it nearly enough over the last couple of years we'll miss Dominic teams as well yesing points here for Francis at 40 love serve T forand to a TFO inside out forand in about 83 seconds for that hold to love 5 three leaf and I have commentated on a couple Juniors this week Mike for the world feed that have some great one-handers brine the Swiss youngster and where did he learn that one yeah Switzerland let's see one handers from Switzerland vinka Roger and uh Tru uh Nathan Tru he's another Frenchman who's got good allc Court sense always one of the great parts of the second week of a grand slam especially here at the US Open chance to check out some future star s among them Taylor Fritz obviously did pretty well in the Juniors here won the title was the finals at randos same match up with Tommy Paul and both of those yeah got a little Revenge both of them picked up a victory 15 love serve T good Ace for Taylor Fritz 30 love second Ace of the set seven now for the match d one behind TFO 30 love Fritz serve near side serve out wide TFO forehand to a Fritz forehand well that was casual from both guys TFO just rolled a forehand middle Fritz responded by Rolling that one into the net 15 serve is long second serve here for Taylor 315 big kicker to a TFO backand cross Fritz goes back in up the line misses long and TFO creeps within two points of this third set this was looking pretty routine for Fritz on his serve just a little lapse chfo could steal the game steal the third set possibly serve trying to go out wide misses long off of the net from Taylor Fritz and TFO taking one step forward towards the Baseline second serve good TFA goes backand through the middle Fritz backand behind him that was awkward from Francis tifo just almost Continental grip forehand again and just misses wide that was really weird that Miss I I Fritz had tried to go back behind him but it looks like Francis had time on the forehand and really could have changed grips didn't 4030 for Taylor Fritz who has to pause just for a second now ready to start the motion serve off the net and good another first serve coming with this first serve tosses up serve just missing wide trying to go out to the corner at 128 second serve good TFO backand middle fr's backand middle TFO runs around hits a forehand wildly you know listen France is about to serve here for the Senate four good on him but those two points in particular there from 30 all a bit of a wasted opportunity I think when you've got that kind of score setup you know two points away I think you want to make your opponent play a very tough Point get involved in a long rally make him run see if he can defend it and tafo just sort of let Taylor off the hook and if he doesn't hold his serve he might think back why didn't I do better there and I'm one of those guys I don't demand 100% from players at all times you certainly you know it as player yourself Le you can't give 100% every single point of a five set match it's just not possible that being said you have to be cognizant of the moments and and Nick you can talk to it as well that was a moment that just maybe could have been that big moment here to really take over this this whole court with a two sets to one Le I just thought it was such a strange strange one there Ka cuz as you called it it was 30 love he gets it to 30 all and then it was almost like Francis was tapping out as though it was 40 love you know as though the game was over and I mean okay the passes in the past he's got to regroup he's taken care of serve so well but Taylor Fritz is about to walk to his side of the Court he's going to get a good good encouragement from his crew and just gives I don't know I agree with you Mike I feel like Francis kind of left the door open there a little bit and just looking down at the court from our sort of perch I'm I'm noticing that tfo's putting on another shirt is that right yeah I feel like I've lost I failed what is this I think it's six no definitely more than it was seven and I missed at least one did I miss two I think we're going to say nine if if you want to in the set break Nick I give you full permission to hop up I read I see one two three four five I mean I see at least six so I'm not that far off they are they're all in one lumped pile though and yeah you you feel some pity for the folks who have to do that laundry that being said see if Francis can clean up this third set serving for it 5-4 from the near side serve T net and he has not served particularly well now 45% after that Miss for this set second serve good Fritz goes backand inside out to a TFO rolled forand Fritz forand cross TFO forand up the line to a Fritz backand middle TFO backhand middle Fritz goes backand middle TFO backand up the line forehand from Fritz goes cross TFO forand cross is a good one Fritz gets it back in play with the forehand Inside Out forehand Fritz lob on the Run TFO has to backtrack overhead from the Baseline good Fritz forand middle TFO forand inside out it's nowhere close to the court defensive work from Taylor Fritz love 15 great scramble in the forehand corner to keep the point alive and then the defensive lob in the backhand Corner that kept the point alive so he gave himself a chance and it paid off the depth on that overhead was very impressive yeah let's see if those two points previously just kind of sticking the crawl right now Frances tifo 16 shot rally there love 15 at 54 serve into the net as this first serve really has disappeared in this third set for Francis tiao second serve for him and love 15 that's good Fritz goes back in up the line lens's good and TFO can't dig it out it's love 30 you know Taylor doesn't do that often enough and when he does take on that back and generally goes crosscourt so I think Francis TFO was completely fooled by that play So Good Under Pressure to love 30 and again this crowd clearly behind Francis trying to see if they can make a big push with him love 30 serve from tifo near side serve missed it wide three straight missed first serves here in this game second serve for tifo good Fritz runs around for a forand TFO forand cross Fritz forand up the line going to miss well long 1530 sing to himself I'm sorry Nick Fritz just said to himself and his team he should have started with a backand there instead of running around for that forehand this game was feeling shades of that 56 game in the second set so that was a desperately needed point from France 1530 here TFO serving T long 0 for four in this game second serve for big foe good Fritz goes back in into the net oh my two wasted opportunities there now on the fritz side 30 all just crossed over the two-hour Mark as well yeah just a little tentative from Fritz commit to the play instead he hit it in the bottom of the net 54 set a piece 30 all Tiano serve will be a let imagine as this gets deeper into the night this crowd going to get more and more participatory try again with this first serve at 30 all at 54 serve TFO good forit forand middle TFO back into the Open Court Fritz digs it out TFO backand middle but short Fritz inside out forand to a TFO backand cross Fritz backand cross TFO backhand cross Fritz backhand through the middle TFO rolls a forehand to a Fritz forehand middle that misses long oh my the unforced errors here from Taylor Fritz and tifo snags the set point yeah Fritz 11 unfor stairs in the set Tao a chance to go 2-1 again this crowd so antsy to give their love to Big foe set point serve T good rolled forehand to a TFO forand middle Fritz backhand cross is pulled wide Francis tifo rattles off the last four points of that game and he's one set away way from a US Open final here on US Open radio presented by American Express [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] a [Music] live from the USA Billy Jean King national tennis center in New York This Is Us open radio presented by American Express M Le shrus here in the booth Nick mccarville is Courtside the players are not at the moment both guys have left the court here for wardrobe changes I do wonder about the number of shirts that Francis does have available to him seeing that pile that's directly in front of our own Nick M Harvel but both guys gone for the moment let's start with you Leaf what do you need to see here from Taylor Fritz and especially that last game just woful from him after that love 30 deficit yeah I just I feel like he's lost a little bit of his Mojo I'm not so sure it's about the numbers and the errors and what's working what's not but just carry yourself in play with a little more commitment and confidence I feel like he's tentative and some of the errors he makes I just I'm surprised when I see them cuz I know how good he's been playing the wi overs verev never seem to have any doubts this is a big stage it's a big moment so I understand being nervous but somehow at this important point in the match now down 2-1 he's going to have to find some answers and and Nick what are you noticing down there uh in terms of that court side appearance again it just felt a little bit patchy through that set but just disappointing to see that let off late well guys party Vibes here as both players have left court here's Taylor Fitz back on court first you know Leaf I agree with you and it just was kind of a strange that third set I just it has not felt like Taylor Fritz has gotten completely settled and what about the errors off the ground he was really unhappy with himself from love 30 up in that last game and then just had a couple unforced errors that were pretty uncharacteristic turning to his box expressing some frustration so he's going to need a full re set to try to come back and win this match in five sets uh yeah I don't know is it is it a is it the nerves is it the let down of of the moment but this is certainly now uh Francis chfo well and truly feels like the front runner and as you guys can hear from my microphone this place is going to be fully backing Francis uh in this fourth set did also just switch sh shoes did Tio during that particular change over I'm I'm going to try to describe as best I can his bench it looks like my 10-year-old's bedroom there's clothes on the floor tennis multiple tennis rackets just laying all over the place multiple pairs of shoes towels on the floor towels on the bench towels in his chair it's a mess yeah no he's a mess right now the only thing he's got going for him is the fact that he's up 21 and he's about to one set away from a US Open final so I'm sure he's in his mind he doesn't care but he does chaos is beautiful exactly one thing about Fran he walks out on court in a pair of shoes that isn't the tennis shoes he wears for the match Right comes out on court changes out of those right Nick and wears the tennis shoes sure does Mike that was beautifully described by you thank you and and you saying chaos is beautiful you're one of the most put together human beings I've ever met in my life on the outside the outside got it serve for Taylor Fritz to start this fourth set was a good one Deep In The Box sliding out wide forehand return Miss from Francis tiao 15 love quickly here in this fourth set we're at the 2hour 12 minute Mark as Fritz now has matched his opponent with eight Aces on the night that one out wide at 125 serve for Taylor good forehand fo Fritz forehand up the line laced simple serve plus one 40 love see if he can settle into another consecutive 23 points or so on serve that'd be good right serve out wide is an ace starts with four in a row yeah that's the best he can do get on the board and keep going right indeed that is about the best you can do is that 49 seconds I think that's the what the clock is telling us for holding Serv and for that's a Roger Federer number yeah hey guys one number we didn't really talk about from that third set or at least I didn't hear us say it is that 91% of first Sur points one from tifo yeah and that was huge and let's look at now 64 first set 64 third set Francis has to treat this like a must-win set indeed and I think it's going to be for me a lot about that return side because you saw what happened in the second where he kind of disappeared for a a a good chunk of time see if he can find that early in this set backhand return from Fritz is into the net throws up his palms to the sky Fritz has 32 UNR returned serves tifo with 26 they're pretty similar in terms of percentage there with how many serves are not coming back serve TFO good up the tee gets a forehand goes inside out to a Fritz backhand middle TFO backhand middle Fritz goes backand cross TFO backand up the line to a forand for Fritz cross TFO running for him good finds some pace and some power there on the move for 30 love yeah that was not just good it was great because he was running to his right and he pulled this back crosscourt with angle and a bit of power very special shot 11th winner off the forehand side serve is good return is not misses long game points [Applause] tifo I think the thing we're both Nick and I are saying is we want to see that sense of urgency for Francis um early in this fourth set return just catches the line from Fritz who now has to deal with the drop shot pokes it up the line Tio running forehand into the deuce Corner traed holds to love it is all make sure Nick mccarville is okay sorry guys that was such an impressive shot I dropped my microphone chaos is beautiful Nick yeah exactly these guys going to change their Racket and Taylor pointing at the throat of the racket he was holding Mike and expressing some frustration so I don't know if that was to say I'm not happy with my string tension but he hasn't sent I haven't seen any other rackets sent off with the instruction for different tensions right new balls here for Fritz will serve at one all just a couple minutes into this fourth set two holds to love serve out wide is wide second serve for Taylor good TFO forand middle is long that's a just really casual again with that return yeah he what we're seeing a lot here tonight is you know this very fast hard court Taylor Fritz the bigger server so he's always going to hold his serve but I think it's add a little more weight to tfo's serve serving and because TFO is the better returner I feel like there's that edge that's appearing that TFO is getting more returns in play at the right time and it's a forehand goes inside out to a Fritz backhand middle TFO backhand middle Fritz rolls a forehand to a running backhand for TFO now has to dig out of backend again goes cross Fritz back in up the line running forehand for TFO Fritz for in Cross TFO for the line Fritz backhand middle TFO backand middle Fritz goes backand cross sliced by TFO Francis gets up excuse me Fritz gets up to a short backand off of that slice and misses it into the net it's 15 al man it plays like that the variety the hands and getting the return back into play it's it's sort of how this match is evolving TFO is just better returner and it's showing at one all 15 all serve into the net for Taylor and these fast hardcourts are making tfo's serve harder to break I don't know tennis backhand return will miss long right hard to explain it always but just we're sort of seeing this evolving I feel and jaffa's going through another one of these lulls if he could just lock in tight here get this set get your business done you don't want to have Taylor Fritz hanging around fth set I didn't notice but his water bottles and and Nick shame on you for not noticing this either I don't know if you can see it they might be in front of the bench did you see that francis's water bottles all say big foe no I can't see I mean I'm trying to Crane my neck I can't see the water bot he has specially made water bottles love it wow knew the shoes said it I know the chain says it but I didn't know the water bottle second serve here for Fritz good return through the middle Fritz back in it's into the net this looks like a really sluggish 15 minutes TFO has a massive opening here it's 30 all Fritz again pointing at his racket looking up at his box go change it if you're not happy already all serve good T Ace for Fritz third of the set 10th of the night to the rescue the first serve he didn't have to get in a rally and worry about his tension and maybe the pressure he's feeling 135 matches his biggest of the night misses the ensuing first serve second good TFO forehand middle Fritz goes forand to a TFO forand inside in Fritz running forehand TFO goes inside out foran Fritz tracks down the backand up the line squash shot TFO Fritz foran inside out running backand TFO Fritz goes foran through the middle TFO there rolls a forehand to it Fritz backand off the net and good sliced by TFO Fritz goes backhand cross TFO backhand cross Fritz backhand middle TFO now goes backhand cross Fritz backand middle run around forehand for TFO Fritz forehand up the line good Fritz backhand cross now through the line tiapo digs out of forand but misses long one of the longest points of the night one by Taylor Fritz a big come on from him as he gets it to 21 in the second set there were multiple times where it looked like Francis was out of gas in that point that was an amazing Exchange I and Fritz just does so well in the corners he's not the best mover in the game but he does have some of the best hands there are times where it looks like he's going to be caught in the corners yet he's able to find and manipulate and make something happen so it's kind of a nice contrast to Styles cuz TFO is such a graceful mover gets into those Corners in and out like a a rocket right but uh yeah Fritz somehow found a little bit better t tennis there I was wondering if he was going to get through that game suddenly two fabulous points one of the biggest Roars from the crowd tonight for Taylor Fritz and Michael Russell is doing a a full coaching session right now and Taylor Fritz is watching him lot of hand signals going on guys in terms of looks like uh stroke production and coming over the ball well I could tell you cuz you can't see Taylor Fritz you only see the back of his head what he said was you think that was that was actually what he said and then Michael Russell apparently nodded his head and he and Taylor said okay so whatever it is that Michael Russell is imploring him to do here in this next set of games Fritz has agreed and has listened that's a really coachable type of a situation right we're in the fourth set of his first ever Grand Slam final coach with instructions and he says if you think so I'll I'll listen so let's see how these next couple of games what this adjustment might be here well he's got one of the best coaches in Mike Russell in his box is a great respect between the two of them Fritz as he goes to his return position looks over it says come on a little subtle fist pump as well TFO from the near side one two Ace no adjustment necessary there if you come up with the goods like that first of the scent ninth of the night uh credit to DJ trz playing one two step there guys when the scoreboard says one two he's a good one that DJ Tris serve good I should also point out DJ Mustard is in the house Nick you know I didn't see DJ Mustard yet Mike thanks so much he's very famous from a Kendrick Lamar song nowadays forand to forand we go right now forand for tifo gets a forehand goes up the line backhand from Fritz cross to a TFO backing up the line running forehand for Fritz tiapo even better on the Move forehand laced up the line 30 love wow that was incredible Taylor I thought accelerated on the forehand got himself in a good position crosscourt heavy and Francis just ran over got behind it and smoked it up the line Taylor wasn't within 10 ft of it serve at 30 love onew in the fourth serve long took out one of the graphic boards right behind Taylor Fritz that serve had so much Pace at 127 second serve is a double first of the set fifth of the night I did see the other night when that happened during the next change over what happens Leaf somebody runs over from off the court yes smacks that video board right where the dead screen is Right pops right back in that's the fix that's what my dad used to do when the TV was on the fritz in you know the mid 80s just go over and smack it once smack it on the side everything's fine should I unhook my headset right now please and also clean up the laundry second serve good Fritz backand middle TFO backand cross Fritz digs that out TFO back in up the line to a forehand yanked out of the court from Taylor Fritz [Music] 4015 you can tell there's right now Taylor Fritz talking again to Michael Russell if you've ever seen them on a practice Court there is a lot of back and forth when they're talking about court speed bounces there's a lot of mutual respect for the input from both sides second serve right now for tifo 4015 serve good Fritz goes big forand to a TFO forand up the line Fritz backhand up the line nowhere close to the court to all here in the fourth I'm pretty sure TFO has more experience playing on arth rash Stadium court so he's used to the surroundings he's used to the sort of the visual you know sometimes when your opponent throws the toss up you know you have to get used to seeing that toss against the background of the fans behind you so I think that's an edge too for tifo as you said Fritz has played a lot of his matches on Armstrong yeah and that's that was been interesting as Fritz misses a backend after a really good body return When you know he he requests that court on on Armstrong right he you know didn't play on it until we got to to the Z match in the quarterfinals and he just likes the intimacy a little bit better but there's so much space and yeah you're absolutely right leaf that sight line for players it it takes some time getting adjusted to love 15 second serve good TFO forehand missed into the net for the first time some frustration from him smacks his racket with his fist it's 15 all it's got to be time for Taylor Fritz to graduate from that Armstrong love I think in his US Open care here 15 all serve good TFO foran up the line to a backend Fritz TFO rolls a forand cross Fritz forand off the net and back onto his side 1530 [Music] now yeah he's got to be careful here he's behind in the score down 21 in sets early here in the fourth this could swing in francis's way look for a big first serve here it's up to T TFA 4 into a Fritz forand middle Francis gets a forand crossed Fritz gets a forand to a TFO backhand that misses long it's 30 all I just wonder if Yanik sinner is watching this match in his hotel room his feet are up I'd hope they're up if icing the ankle icing the wrist potential excuse me the wrist yeah that's a good thought two all 30 all pretty big moment here for Francis TFO and how he approaches this return situation serve from Fritz good up the T backhand TFO Fritz has a backhand cross TFO back in Cross Fritz backand cross slice from TFO good depth Fritz backand to TFO backand up the line running forand Fritz TFO forehand up the line running backhand for Fritz TFO forand cross he shanked it gain Point Taylor Fritz yeah that was a good point from Fritz he was under pressure responded well kept his feet under underneath him as he's moving quickly side to side it's it's such a demanding exercise to be consistently great and that time he answered the Bell so with a game point here for Taylor Fritz from The Far Side 226 into this one serve for Fritz out wide good return into the net from Tio we stay on serve and still break point L here in this fourth set Fritz leading 32 on US Open radio presented by American Express [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] great to be with you here on US Open radio my name's Mike Cas that's the shrus Nick mccarville shirt counter Nick mccarville port side for us here in the second semi-final yanx siner awaits in Sunday's final first ball on Sunday 2:00 local time will of course be here early get you ready on US Open radio tomorrow men's doubles final start at 11:30 before the women's final fin tomorrow 4:00 myself Zena Garrison Sophie amch for Pula sabalenka Francis tiao here 23 serve out wide is wide second serve for Francis From The Far Side right now serve is good forand Fritz tifo goes forand to a Fritz forand looks like they got the video board fixed as well during that break I don't know that was me that was you okay I'm glad somebody's on top of things my hand bleeding from punching the wall but very Ru Levesque of you serve good up to T Fritz forand to a TFO forand Fritz forand TFO forehand goes cross Fritz forehand cross TFO forehand up the line Fritz goes backhand cross TFO backhand up the line Fritz can't come up with that one is it's 31 and it feels like we've kind of opened things up here a little bit we're seeing Fritz play more out of the Corners as tifo going for a little bit more angular here in this fourth set yeah this is a really good response from TFO he's seeing openings is Fritz tiring at all I don't know suddenly those openings seem bigger and Fritz isn't able to cover them PR love serve good Fritz forand lands good TFO forand cross what an angle Fritz even better angle chipped up the line from TFO Fritz is there backand slice catches the Baseline TFO backand line squash shot Fritz TFO inside out forand sliced back by Fritz just wide I mean that was an amazing point from TFO he had Fritz on a yo-yo just working him back and forth Corner short deep unbelievable oh the crowd responding to it as well as TFO has game points at 40 lovees serve for him into the net it's the 100th point on francis's serve for the night second serve good Fritz goes back in Cross TFO back in up the line just [Music] wide we played two more points on the fritz serve so far tonight 102 to 100 at the moment it's been very very level here points one just the flip of that 102 for TFA 100 for Fritz 45 serve good Fritz forand through the middle TFO forand up the line in behind it lob Fritz TFO has to backtrack overhead good Fritz there back in to a TFO back excuse me forand Fritz goes forand up the line TFO can't keep up with that pace 40 love to 4030 very quickly quality tennis from both men and taao was a deep lob he couldn't finish with the overhead so Fritz was able to play his way back into the point ultimately a huge forehand up the line that might be one of the keys tonight in this match up the line who's doing it more effectively at the right times so far it's been tiao but Fritz is not out of this by any means still has this game point 4030 serve into the net Fritz taking three big steps towards the Baseline for this second serve which is good to a backand for Fritz middle TFO rolls a forand to Fritz backend TFO forand cross Fritz squash side lands good TFO inside out forand with the grunt as well three all in the four yeah you can hear it in this crowd how appreciative they are of tfo's level of play right now that finishing forehand he threw his body through that shot incredible execution the whole right side of his body came around really put everything in there and often times those are the toughest kinds of shots to generate Pace on cuz the ball's just sitting there you have no Pace from your opponent he generated all that power himself amazing three all Fritz serving near side good TFO backand into the net very good body surf no chance to get those arms extended 15 love Tao still struggling with the serf percentage under 50% again in this fourth set serve good for Fritz out wide Ace there at one 25 fourth of this set 11th of the night 30 love serve T good gets a forehand goes inside in TFO rolls a forehand with depth gets to forehand again this time goes cross squash shot Fritz TFO runaround forehand inside in this time into the dece corner 305 [Applause] yeah footwork is such a key even more so on this very fast hardcourt but tifo moves so well got around the ball instead of inside out he went inside in the forehand winner Fritz came up after that point with a big sarcastic smile on his face looking towards his team 35 serve off the net and long both men 15 forand winners second serve for Fritz going to be a kicker up the T forand for foe now steps into a backhand goes middle Fritz backhand middle TFO forand Inside Out Fritz tracks down to backand TFO forand cross Fritz forand cross on the Run TFO forand up the line dug out by Fritz TFO back in on the Run Fritz backand cross TFO backand cross we've reset the point TFO goes back in up the line running forand Fritz cross TFO forand cross Fritz forehand up the line to a backhand cross from TFO sliced back by Fritz TFO forehand up the line TFO is going to have a backhand slice up the line Fritz backhand slice tifo backhand slice back up the line Fritz running forand dug out by tiao backhand Fritz cross TFO digs that out it's short Fritz into an open court as TFO Taps out oh my what a point and what a call mik C and Francis tifo just stopped fully stopped Le shrus oh yeah well he was exhausted wasn't he he put so much into this point and he just knew that he could not cover that last ball from Fritz into the forehand corner and that's a huge moment for Fritz can he build on that can he make that a turning point and not just a single point in the game longest rally of the night at 31 shots game points Fritz serve trying to go out wide legs didn't react for him into the net second serve upcoming but just circle that 305 Point second serve good TFO goes big oh my easy raw power return winner off the forehand side for big foe I think the term is insucient he he just casual Brilliance what do you do with this in suawa exactly it's my favorite Pokemon character that was gigantic oh my 33rd winner for tifo Fritz has 36 Fritz has to wait for this crowd to settle down just a little bit serve good TFO was cheating T got burned wide Ace for Fritz well we're getting into the meat of this set as Fritz gets us to 43 and I I I find myself wondering cuz there have been a couple times now that we've talked about that Francis looks a little bit weary now we start to think about the fact that as as Nick pointed out at the beginning of this match he has spent 3 hours more on court does that weariness factor in later in this fourth set and then potentially into a fifth I think it does I mean you have to consider that we've had some serious weather here the early in the first week of this tournament temperatures were extreme and those hours on court that can add up that can back up and I think that could be a factor always coming down the stretch one or two moments in a set I I think you again you give now these guys are so even right now that last game was indication that both were playing well at the same time Nick mccarville Courtside as DJ Tri plays Martin svig and dragonets hello were they saying hello to somebody in particular there seemed to be a big pop in the crowd there for a second yeah sub bird and Megan rapino are in the house some basketball and soccer legendry here and you know you know guys I really go back to that 3 hours difference on Court and I I thought that it was so important for tifo to win that first set and it feels yeah I mean is he starting to feel some of the physical labor of this match we're going to see here in these next coming games but it is really feeling to me like he wants to close this out in five or excuse me in four and not go five I think he has to I I really do I I have this concern for him that yeah this is the impetus needs to be there and that has always been kind of as I talked about earlier that question when the urgency is necessary can Francis get to where he needs to be Y and you certainly don't want to surrender a lead you know that's the one of the worst ways to lose a tennis match but that's happened to Francis before so he's got to take care respect the lead respect your opponent total points won between both men 105 incredible TFO from the near side serve up to T is long second serve here at 34 in the fourth good forit big swing on that return misses to the bottom of the net 15 love I heard at least one person up in the stands chair for Taylor there there are a couple of them 15 loves serve T good Fritz rolls the forand to a tifo backand middle Fritz backand middle misses well long 30 love trying to think back I think this might be the first set where Fritz is on the negative ratio of winners to unforced erors right now seven winners eight unforced I think that's right 30 love at three4 serve T just long second serve that's good Fritz big swing again forehand for foe now has a forehand goes up the line slice from Fritz into the net one of the biggest returns that Fritz can hit and TFO just able to block it back up the line and really change the outcome of that point yeah Fritz is having a long conversation with his team the leg leg stay yeah be positive move your leg bring the energy and that's that's always one of those tough things to hear from a coach right I I nothing against Michael Russell because that is you know what needs to be done but that's a tough one to digest because you're looking for something strategy-wise yeah double fault here from TFO trying to go into the body 405 but that's a tough that's a tough message to swallow at this stage I think though it was pointed Mike Taylor's just kind of let that cloud hang over over him from that third set into this fourth he is in this match GRE serve netted for TFO I think that's what we call Tough Love tough love indeed yeah second serve for Fran is good Fritz back into a TFO forehand cross Fritz again a massive swing and just misses into the bottom of the net for all and who do you think he turned to and had a a little bit of a frustrated motion towards Taylor Fritz there his coach not to steal a a famous line from Leaf shyris but grumpasaurus a little grumpy he's a little grumpy he's down two sets to one in the battle four all serve te is good digs out a forand US Fritz fo goes forehand to a Fritz backand cross TFO back in to a Fritz backand middle TFO backand middle Fritz backand middle TFO opens it up backend corner now has to dig out of back end through the middle Fritz runs around for and Inside Out TFO backhand now has to run to a forehand Fritz goes backhand cross TFO backhand up the line's going to miss long it's 15 love solid good targets there for Taylor Fritz yeah that was a good point that time he had tiao on the move and I think he's a little more effective when he's up on the Baseline take time away 15 love serve good TFO short return has to go backhand slice now Fritz goes backhand cross TFO backhand cross good angle Fritz backhand slice up the line Lan's good TFO running for and cross Fritz squash shot off the forehand side will miss long it's 15 all it's always so impressive when a player runs to his right and is able to find the outside edge of the ball and bring it back crosscourt with power and pace and angle these guys make it look so easy and it's not easy to do four all in the fourth 15 all Fritz Far Side serve T long long run for the member of the ball crew to track that down Fritz now finally ready second serve good TFO forand middle Fritz goes backand middle TFO back in to a Fritz forand cross TFO forand middle Fritz Inside Out forehand backhand slice from TFO he didn't move his feet to get up to it that ball was a little bit short and he misses into the net for 315 yeah in his defense it was a little bit of a m hit from Fritz it didn't really have a proper trajectory so it was almost like a a m hit drop shot take it and move on if you're too forget about it 15 serve T lob return looks like it's going to miss long indeed it does game points Taylor Fritz not a single break chance here in this fourth set to this stage serve into the net for Fritz TFO backing off the Baseline just a shade now stepping into it second serve returned through the middle Fritz backend cross TFO doesn't make too much of an effort for it so Fritz does get it to 54 we're deep in the fourth set with TFO two sets to one lead on US Open radio presented by American Express [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] I didn't know we'd gone into mid-70s Funk here Claude is claud's going deep here he's laying it down I think he is very cool styling I'm not mad about it it's m Leaf shrus Nick mccarville with his Mr Rogers cardigan strapped on here tonight hey you neighbor you you went from being the coolest guy in the party to Mr Rogers was kind of a move Mr Rogers was the coolest guy at the party yes accepted absolutely great human being four five TFO serving out wide gets a forehand goes inside out Fritz digs that out TFO inside out for him Fritz again on the run with the backhand this time he misses it long 15 love I mean if you get played by Tom Hanks in a movie you know you're doing something right that's pretty good you have to admitted you're right TFO a ball got away from here the ball crew had to go pick up the mess now ready I think 15 love again you can hear from the upper Rafters here inside Arthur Ash Stadium this crowd getting antsy serve T wide Michael Russell also getting pretty antsy right now second serve for TFO good Fritz back in Cross TFO digs that out but pushes the back in wide think back again to the second set right thefo was the one who had to serve from behind faced a set point on his serve at 45 then got broken at love at 56 that certainly factors into the brain here late in a fourth set as well 4 five 15 all Far Side for tifo serve out wide as well long second serve for tifo that's good Fritz big forand TFO has to dig that out does backhand from Fritz TFO DS digs that out as well now goes backhand cross Fritz back in middle TFO back in middle we've reset the point here TFO goes back in middle Fritz back in middle TFO back in up the line squash shot from Fritz going to miss long and again that backhand line has come up big at some really big moments here tonight 315 yeah it sure has Fritz tried to defend that by sliding with his right leg kind of an under spin squash shot and it sailed on him and this is where the speed of this court is challenging for Fritz it's not it easy for him to defend absolutely packed house here nobody leaving Arthur as Stadium right now as we are just past 10:30 local time in a fourth set 45315 serve out wide is an ace for Francis TFO into double fingers his 10th of the night gain points at 4015 at 4 five two sets to one lead serve T just long knocks over one of his rackets tfos at his bench there that ball did second serve for tiao into the net it's a double fall third of the set seventh of the night he's serving 40% in this set I'm sorry did you just say 40 yeah 10 of 25 serve at 4030 T nett it sign of tired legs maybe second serve for tifo double fault again just took his eye off the ball a little bit here I mean you don't want to rush through a service game that is so valuable take your time make sure you're ready to play the point when you step up to the line that second double fall in a row Mike I think you're right it did look tired it looked like it was his body sort of trying to push through a moment there frit suddenly to points from this set at do serve T not even close well long second serve for tifo good backhand Fritz TFO goes forehand middle Fritz forand middle TFO forand cross Fritz forand cross TFO inside out forand lands good back and Fritz TFO he Yanks that into the crowd behind Taylor Fritz from 405 to set Point [Applause] Fritz yeah suddenly the pressure was on and tiao did not respond well mtim the forehand badly shank you very much up into the crowd this is a near carbon copy of the second nothing doing no break chances until this moment remember four 4 five Fritz did have a set point there got it to 7 five here we go set point Fritz TFO serving good Fritz backhand middle TFO Inside Out forand Fritz backhand middle and short drop shot tfo's into the net absolute disaster for Francis tifo giving away that fourth set and we're headed to the fifth two sets a piece one set for the US Open final on US Open radio presented by American Express [Music] [Music] [Music] well my case Le chrus here in the booth Nick mccarville Courtside I am flabbergasted by what I just saw at the end of that fourth set I I think the fritz Camp was as well you had Michael Russell screaming come on you had morgs in the front row just delighted by that giveaway I I can't get my brain around right now Lea shyris how Francis TFO comes through and wins this match and I hate to say that because I think he's playing at a pretty good level I just don't know how you overcome that yeah he he is playing at a good level and we saw it in the second set where we failed to get it done right at the end of the set and uh you know shot selection is so important because suddenly the pressure can get ratcheted up fairly quickly and he did not respond well and that's uh it's going to be a tough one we'll see if um he can respond to that because that didn't go well for him Nick mccarville your court side and and I'm just wondering what you saw from Francis TFO in those moments there after again it was 405 and then he's into a fifth set how does he respond here well I think you called it really well there Mike I think the legs let him go there in the fourth set and he sort of let his mind get taken over by his body so now he's got to will himself through Francis isn't out of this match guys let's not I don't think anyone's saying that but it it is going going to be the advantage and you can feel it on court here the pendulum has swung Fritz serving to start this set as well and and that is also extremely important because we've seen how tifo has folded twice late in the second late in the fourth yeah and nice for Taylor that he gets to serve first his best shot maybe a serve use your best weapon to build the lead 37 winners to 33 un forced right now for Fritz second serve is good gets a backand goes middle TFO backand middle Fritz goes back in Cross TFO back in middle Fritz backhand cross TFO backhand cross Fritz backand cross TFO backhand up the line in behind it but misses that backhand well long it's 3 love now he hasn't missed too many back hands he's got one of the best in the business but that one that flew that was way over the Baseline what's going through his mind right now he's got to get focused get centered get right he love serve out wide is an ace no effort there from Tio lets that one slide by that is Ace number 13 yeah looking at the unforced errors for tifo 15 on the forehand remarkably 14 actually on that backhand Leaf that's a high number for him is that is 39 total for Francis on the night serve good foran return up the line Fritz gets that back in play TFO forand to a Fritz forand cross TFO forehand into the bottom of the Net Quick hold to love for Fritz to start he's going to have new balls in the next game will Francis TFO so that means yeah 15 off the forehand 14 off the backhand eight double faults including two massive ones there couple of volley errors as well yeah he's it's it's been a sloppy night and an erratic night however the this is a very fast hard court the conditions are very very quick you're going to make a few more mistakes in these fast conditions so we'll give him that because he is still in this as Nick said right it's one set for a spot in the US Open final he just needs to get his head right Nick are you surprised that Francis has not tried to engage this crowd very much well I just think that the physicality of it there at the end of the fourth set hasn't really had you can hear all the coaching going on these are new balls for Francis Mike I think he needs a reason to right I think he needs a couple bursts of his best tennis and we see here again missing a first serve easily just hasn't had that moment these last 20 minutes or so second serve is good Fritz goes back in middle TFO forehand to a Fritz backhand middle TFO backhand middle misses long love 15 nine straight points right now for Taylor Fritz some of these streaks we've seen tonight right 23 straight points on serve for Fritz at one stage TFO at 18 nine straight points overall for Taylor Fritz serve TFO missed wide up the T this feels like an absolute danger moment right here second serve at L 15 good Fritz goes backand up the line TFO forehand Fritz goes backhand cross it's good back in Cross Fritz backand through the middle TFO Four Hands into the net love 30 yeah and that last backand from Fritz he was very wise he hit it straight down the center he didn't flirt with trying to squeeze it down the line he played high percentage tennis make your opponent play a difficult Point Under Pressure that's just what Fritz did and Cho coughed up the air 10 straight points at a crucial point of this match crowded again trying to get there with tifo it's love 30 at love one in the fifth serve well wide feels like the legs are gone mhm second serve tifo good Fritz goes big forand to TFO forand middle britz Inside Out forehand clean winner TFO no effort to get out there once again smoke show right now for Taylor Fritz he's got three break chances yeah that serve was very soft Taylor leaned on it and then the next forehand was a monster inside out boom feels like the match right here love 40 serve good Fritz rolls a forehand good TFO forand cross lands good squat shot Fritz TFO volley good ends the streak at 11 still two more break chances to come and maybe that's how we describ this match it's been streaky hitting the three-hour Mark during this next Point Fritz is three of seven on the night with his break chances as we close in on 11:00 as well 1540 on the tifo serve tosses up serve good it's an ace number 11 on the night that was a clutch delivery the location was perfect right at the juncture of the T francis's girlfriend Ian saying one more yeah she sure did 3040 sered from Francis T long TFO lost all three second serve points here in in this game the second good Fritz goes big cross TFO digs it out but it's into the net and there's your break and maybe your match Taylor Fritz in the driver's seat for the first time two love here in the fifth this is the first time guys that he's LED this match since that first break of the match yes right correct three love lost the next five games from there and then lost the set you can hear it in the crowd right just this murmur of absolutely yeah our guy is behind Fritz here to love serves T net lot of folks filing back in after they left after the fourth set we're going to see the bad news on the scoreboard backhand return off the net and good from TFO backhand frit stays back at the Baseline goes backhand middle TFO forehand cross lands good lob Fritz overhead TFO good Fritz almost tracks it down but it's l [Applause] 15 one thing that TFO is doing so well early on was playing with variety attacking with variety he spent a fair amount of time up at the net he hasn't been up there much of late surf for Fritz out wide is an a second of this set 14th of the night 125 out wide 15 all From The Far Side right now is Fritz 12 seed serve into the net will move to world number seven in the live rankings if he wins here today second serve good TFO forand nowhere close to the court misses it well long 315 be inside the top 10 for the first time since February got as high as number five back February of last year serve at 315 up the t is good a really good one just off the frame of tifo Taylor Fritz gain points here to push this lead in the fifth serve T Ace well this has been an impressive stretch here for Taylor Fritz five games on the Trot it's a three love lead here in the fifth lead that's been a remarkable run and suddenly because he has the edge in the scoreboard he looks to have more energy his serve has po his groundies have a little more juice and he's moving well it's amazing how the score can make you feel good and allow you to play the kind of tennis you want to play the question is for tifo does he have enough gas in the tank to Fashion a response from this deficit now this is where guys I feel like the juncture of the match where the head-to-head really starts to haunt Francis tifo too in the sense of he's only won one of seven matchups against Taylor Fritz and now it's just getting in his head like I I can't beat this guy that's how it sort of feels right now in terms of this matchup can you explain what's happening right in front of you right now I'm I'm watching it and I'm trying to I don't know there's a lot of uh cleaning the floor behind tifo it feels like maybe the AC machine that the players use maybe that had a leak but those guys are uh gone with used towels I on top of it awkwardly it was yeah they're using sanitizer they're not just picking up towels they're using sanitizer so it made me wonder if there was yeah some sort of coolant from the air conditioner was there blood on the on the ground possibly regardless I can't know everything for side know some things there's a little bit of blood on the court in in some sense here Francis TFO having to spill a little bit right now can he dig deep down L three From The Far Side serve into the net second serve for Francis good Fritz backhand middle TFO rolls a for hand to a backand up the line from Fritz TFO forand middle Fritz goes forand up the line TFO back hand cross sliced back by Fritz TFO inside in forand Fritz tracks that down big swing squash shot from tfos well long love 15 and Fritz should feel like all I need to do here play a really good tough game make tifo work hard to get a game with me in the lead I've still got my serve I'm just going to make him play every Point stretch him out make him work hard see if he's got any legs and heart left 13-3 the point count here in this fifth [Applause] set at love 15 again this crowd wanting to get Francis at least level here he has a backand goes cross Fritz backing up the line volley from tfos into the net it's love 30 it's all Fritz right now just a totally opposite vibe from each of the respective boxes Fritz's box up off their feet leaf and just a lot of dejection right now from tfo's box now they're standing trying to pump up their guy yeah that's a nice i' love to see that I love to see teams getting behind their man trying to pull him through urge him on transfer some of that energy they feel to him great drama love 30 serve T good Fritz rolls a back in just long up the line 1530 [Music] 15 ft behind the Baseline for this return is Taylor serve TFO up the line excuse me up the t is a good one return error out of Taylor Fritz for 30 [Applause] Al and the crowd hushes here 30 all serve into the net from TFO second serve for him good Prince backand middle TFO rolls a forehand to a frit forehand middle TFO forand up the line misses long virtual match points here for Taylor Fritz at 3040 if you're tiao you've got to find a first serve get into the point on your terms he's serving 45% in this set struggled with it through the fourth as well as the legs have given way ready to go with this crowd still a bit of a roar misses the first into the net second serve for tifo at 3040 double fault there goes the racket for Francis tifo he dumps it onto the ground has to go pick it up but this match might be done two break lead here for Taylor Fritz for love in the fifth yeah that's uh again a painful way to lose your serve he fought back from low 30 down but just could not sustain enough good tennis those last couple of points he's just so frustrated Francis and guys this is a little awkward too with the new change in in fan movement y is that you've got a lot of people now running out to beat traffic heartbreaking forehand up the line for Fritz backand TFO Fritz backand middle TFO backand middle Fritz goes backand middle TFO backand up the line running forand Fritz TFO forand cross is a good one foran winner for love 15 yeah if he's going to come back from a love four deficit in the fifth he has to strike right now this this break of service m a must he's got one step in that direction serve good TFO returned through the middle crit forand off the net back onto his side of [Applause] 30 I mean you can just hear how this ground desperate to see The Dramatics of a fifth set serve out wide good one Francis returned through the middle misses long [Applause] 1530 Fritz ready serve out wide is into the net took a little bit off there just 109 off that first serve second here good TFO for in up the line Fritz goes for in middle TFO for an inside out to a Fritz back in Cross back in up the line for TFO forehand for Fritz misses long on the pass TFO does have a couple of looks to get back into this [Applause] one listen to this guys it's Bonkers man it's two breaks and you can just I mean they desperately want Francis through this 1540 serve Fritz out wide is [Applause] wide second serve for Fritz into the net it's a double fault and listen to this Roar breakes traded a little bit of a fist pump from Tio towards his team Leaf what do you make of that it was a stunning turn of events I thought it was going to be over but suddenly TFO just laced a couple of returns beautiful timing so he dug deep to find one step back let see if he can sustain it and I tell you the happiest guy in New York right now is Yanik cner watch he's probably thinking these guys are busting you know every muscle they have to get this one W well I saw resting on social media right after yeah right at the end of their match I think you know one person posted on Twitter well it looks like this next match TFO and Fritz is going to be the men's final because of the fact that Center dealing with that left wrist the the fact that these two are just beating each other up so physical here tonight I think it all kind of balances out in the end going to be a lively contest on Sunday maybe and you know listen C's a pro and if if his wrist is sore he's going to find a way to manage through that you don't give up the opportunity to win a major because of a sore wrist you're going to deal with it whoever sorry whoever gets through this one they're going to have to deal with recovery they'll get through them sorry Leaf didn't mean to cut you off there uh Michael Russell just telling Taylor for it calm down that was the first message after the double fall on breakpoint so simmer down now and then also put your blinders on focus on what's ahead of you and now Mike Russell standing obviously the whole tifo box standing up for Francis but that was the message from Mike Russell just calm down you are still in the driver's seat yeah and it's got to be such an odd feeling too this is you know Taylor's Home slam as well he should be getting this love in his first ever US Open semi-final he's just on the wrong end of the crowd has a very good return now running to a backhand cross tifo backing up the line misses long is approaching behind it love 15 [Music] but I think he knew that going in I think he knew if it was going to go to a fifth set they were likely to be behind Francis he did he knew that yeah it's this guy's one of the most popular players in the world for a reason indeed 15 at 1 14 in the fifth serve T wide second serve for tifo that's good Fritz back in to a TFO back in Cross he pulled it wide and just again it's the feet he looks down at them just no movement there to get into a good position left 30 yeah [Music] he's and you can hear them urging on just go in just go in which obviously means try and get yourself up to the net try and find a way to end the point TFO for eight on his second serve points here in this set right now serve good Fritz rolls for oh he gets the on the ground is he all right backand for Fritz he's back in the point forehand TFO Fritz forand cross TFO forand up the line he pushed it wide Taylor Fritz boy I was concerned about him rolling an ankle there he's looking down at his left ankle here as well doesn't look like it's a problem regardless it's three break chances it love 40 yeah tafo tried to hit a winner there he really should have hit that into the corner and come into the net yes and again very quickly to the line tons of time left on the serve clock he serves long again three break chances for Taylor Fritz second serve tifo good Fritz goes back in through the middle it's oh it's good tiao reacted like that had missed but he was the one who missed 51 one Taylor Fritz on the precipice one game away from the US Open final remarkable turn of events there you thought TFO had broken back with the reason that he was going to come and secure his service game instead broken at love wow so here he is serving for the match Taylor Fritz served T good gets a forehand goes inside out TFO backhand misses wide those shoulders are slumped yeah he's so frustrated Francis he's just so disappointed I think I think he's still living at the end of that fourth set Ser at 15 Love Good Ship return good Fritz forehand to a TFO backand is into the net it's 30 love yeah this set these moments down the stretch we were talking about the three hours of time spent on court that TFO has spent longer than Fritz in reaching this point that's significant now at 30 left serve T oh it's a let it's a let 3 hours Leaf that's that's an entire extra match it's like Francis had to play six rounds to get to the semis another first serve here at 30 love for Taylor Fritz serve T just long second serve good good TFO foran up the line Fritz digs it out TFO foran cross Fritz digs that out as well backhand TFO Fritz backhand slice cross scor TFO backand up the line Fritz forehand volley tfo's missed wide Taylor Fritz match point [Music] [Applause] such a big moment for American [Applause] tennis first time in nearly two decades to have two American men face off in a semi-final and now Taylor Fritz with it on the line Match Point serve and he finishes with an ace Taylor Fritz will play for his country's Grand Slam title advancing to his first US Open final 46 75 46 6461 over his close friend Francis tifo Taylor Fritz will have the chance to put an end to the US men's drought on Sunday against Yanik Center throws his arms to the air and finally hears it from this crowd it's Taylor Fritz moving on here in New York yeah what a recovery down two sets to one and able to dig deep and win it the fourth and the fifth sets that's impressive moment for the family and his friends to celebrate no doubt but for Taylor Fritz he's going to be thinking about himself and seeing himself a little bit differently after a win like today semifinal win catapulting into the championship match he's erasing a few demons that have been lurking in any player who struggle to get past the quarterfinals of a major look at Andre rublev what is he 0 and 10 Taylor flitz has put those things behind him and he doubts about his place in the game Francis TFO got some help cleaning up the laundry now puts the bag on his back thinking this crowd absolutely gutted tears on his face a completely dejected Francis TFO and understandably he is devastated Mike that's a tough one to watch as he goes through the tunnel a court attendant helping with his laundry four of his rackets as well he's into the locker room Taylor fr in off here before heading out on court this interview I can tell by the suit is going to be with Christopher Eubanks always incredibly well-dressed Mr Eubanks let's here from these two Young Americans that was an incredible effort physically mentally Francis came out and played some really good tennis to get up two sets to love and you stayed with it you stay true to your two sets to one sorry you stay with it you stayed true what were the keys in order for you to be able to turn that match around uh he was I mean he was overwhelming me from the Baseline uh so much he was taking the ball so early changing line so well it was just like really overwhelming and I I just tried to tell myself to to stay in it and and fight to just hold my serve and kind of just appli that scoreboard pressure as much as possible I told myself that if I didn't give it absolutely everything I had to just stick with it and see if you know his level might drop a little bit then uh I was going to regret it for for a long time so I just did everything I could to just stay in it you know you said that you know you told yourself to stay in it but I looked over at your coaching box a little bit and Michael Russell who's usually one of the most calm cool and Collective coaches seemed to get really really into it did hearing him kind of you know give you that energy did that also play a part in kind of turning that momentum and getting your energy level up uh I mean I think I think a big thing was a lot of these points that that were being played where I felt like I wasn't really doing anything wrong and I was just getting overwhelmed I uh I was freaking out a little bit and he you know he kind of just told me to keep doing what I was doing and it kind of just accept that that's okay and and keep making him do it and I think that you know it helped me uh just calm me down and and reaffirm I'm you know I was doing the right thing well you did the right thing and you also did something else that's incredibly special tonight you became the first American man in 18 years to to advance to the finals of the US Open tears right now for Taylor [Applause] pritz Taylor I know you I know how hard you work I know how much you put into this moment right here when you hear that that you will be playing in the finals of the US Open come Sunday what goes through your mind I mean it's it's the reason why I do what I do it's the reason why I work so hard it's uh I mean I'm in the fins de [Applause] open I'm sure it's a dream come true you're going to have a couple days to kind of get ready for it but I got to ask in that final of the US Open you will face Yanik Center I want to get your thoughts on that match and what you look forward to doing over the next 48 hours to prepare for the final on Sunday like I said it's it's a dream come true I'm in the finals so I'm going come out and I'm I'm going to give everything I possibly have and I know that that for a fact I'm going to I'm going to give it everything I can possibly give it so I can't wait and I know this crowd in New York will be behind you 100% ladies and gentlemen our number one American and US Open finalist Taylor Fritz that's a pretty special moment well that's hugely special for I think all American tennis fans and obviously special for Taylor and for his family who have been such an integral part of his development in his career and to see him have success like that and face adversity like he did I mean he had to take on one of his buds he had to take on a stadium that was sort of pulling for tifo yeah and he got through it and he said cemented his place in the game didn't he Nick mccarville your final thoughts from Courtside before you fight through this incredible crowd and we'll have a gold star waiting for you well now the fans here are going to get rewarded with some autographed tennis balls from Taylor Fritz that's the noise you guys hear now as he hits it high into the rafters I thought that was a very human moment from Taylor Fritz I think often times he has hesitated in Sharing who he really is I think it's been hard I think it's been he's an introvert I said that at the opening the match and that was human those those were real tears that was real emotion and Mike and leaf as you really well described that was one of his best friends in the world that he just beat in five sets in a match really that was on the racket of Francis TFO deep in that fourth set so for Taylor Fritz to come through the way that he did we talked a lot about the dynamic of tifo not unraveling but starting to fade in that match how about a thought on Taylor Fritz who's been so hardworking Chris Eubank said it he has taken the last 2 three years and every single year he has upped his physical game off the court he brings in Michael Russell on the court and he has absolutely worked so hard to earn this moment in his career and guys we get who it does not matter if yanx siner is injured in the final you give Taylor Fritz the chance to win the US Open and to be the first American man to win this title since Andy rodic in 2003 Taylor just coming over near to me chatting with Chris Eubanks here and he's going to sign a few autographs for kids Courtside he is making a moment in their lives in what is a true moment in his life all right thank you so much Nick mccarville as always an incredible whisperer now he'll get to come and join us here in uh leafless and you and I both have been around it you in Southern California me traveling the Challenger circuit for the last 10 years since these guys came up together this means a lot there is no doubt that Taylor Tommy Francis Riley what they have meant over the last 10 years and now finally one of them gets to do it on Sunday and it's a big spot it's not at one of the other three it's at their home slam and I just have this sense that Taylor is going to have those three guys in particular right with him when he plays yanx CER on Sunday no doubt about it because Taylor Fritz wouldn't be where he is today without those guys around him that competitive friction that the American players have had over all these years of their wonderful development and you know we've been talking for a long time that we need a big dog an americ step up and be a part of a major final get that spot in the top 10 and be a consistent part of the tennis community at that Elite level and I think Taylor Fritz is knocking on that door tomorrow or for the championship match it's going to be a lot of fun on Sunday but let's get you ready for tomorrow because Us open radio does not stop and leaf we're going to get you set tomorrow 11:30 getting you ready for the doubles Final on ash on the men's side the Aussie Team Max purcel Jordan Thompson taking on Germans Kevin Kitz and Tim puts who once was golden seted in singles Tim puts actually went from a golden set early in his singles career now going for a grand slam Title Here the US Open on the double side that will begin at 12:00 pregame at 11:30 and then our women's singles final 4:00 start we'll have pregame starting at 3:30 myself Zena Garrison Sophie amch will be Courtside and it's going to be firsttime Champions on both the women's and the men's side here firsttime US Open Champion Pula sabalenka your thoughts on that one yeah again nice to have it American Jessica Pula playing in her first major final just like Taylor Fritz is on the men's side of things so it's a wonderful opportunity for her she's got a great chance against sabalenka no doubt arena is playing lovely tennis she's going to be a handful on these fast courts hopefully Pula can get into that match if she can win that first set she's going to have a great shot to win the match and maybe win her first major title it's going to be a lot of fun tomorrow again we'll get you started beginning at 11:30 and then a 3:30 pregame for that women's final pugula and sabalenka leaf it's been a lot of fun thanks for coming and joining us for a little bit of time we had some good times huh it's been fabulous boys in the back do an incredible job as always for Nick for leaf I'm Mike signing off you have been listening to us open radio presented by American Express and now Taylor Fritz with it on the line match points serve and he finishes with an ace Taylor Fritz will play for his country's Grand Slam title advancing to his first US Open final 46 75 46 6461 over his close friend Francis tifo Taylor Fritz will have the chance to put an end to the US men's drought on Sunday against yanx Center throws his arms to the air and finally hears it from this crowd it's Taylor Fritz moving on here in New York [Music] the This Is Us open radio presented by American [Music] Express This Is Us open radio presented by American Express