Taylor Fritz then earned his first berth in the final four of a major, beating 2020 US Open runner-up Alexander Zverev 7-6(2), 3-6, 6-4, 7-6(3).
Fritz had been 0-4 in grand slam quarter-finals but finally broke through against Zverev, the No.4 seed he also defeated in the fourth round at Wimbledon.
“I’ve had a lot of looks at quarterfinals over the last couple of years and today just felt different,” Fritz said. “I really felt like it was my time to take it a step further.”
READ MORE: Teddy axed, six changes in Gal’s Kangaroos team
READ MORE: ‘Like a big brother’: Demon’s touching tribute after triumph
READ MORE: Drastic solution to end boxing scam after $150m disappeared
Frances Tiafoe could give the US a third semi-finalist — and a guaranteed chance to play for a championship — when he faces No.9 Grigor Dimitrov in the night session. If he wins, the No.20-seeded Tiafoe would play the 12th-seeded Fritz in the semis.
“That could be crazy, so I guess we’ll see what happens,” Fritz said, “but either way I’ll be ready to go.”
He controlled the action behind his strong serving, winning 20 of 21 points on his first serve in the fourth set and 81 per cent in the match.
Taylor Fritz celebrates after defeating Alexander Zverev. Getty
Emma Navarro rode a stunning turnaround right into her first grand slam semi-final, beating Paula Badosa 6-2, 7-5 to follow up her upset of defending champion Coco Gauff.
Navarro was trailing 5-1 in the second set and was three points from having to go to a deciding third but she won the next four points to stay alive, starting a stretch in which she captured 24 of the final 28 points of the match.
Watch the 2024 US Open tennis for free on 9Now. Every match will be ad-free, live and on demand with Centre Court in 4K UHD on Stan Sport.
“I think things weren’t looking great there in the second set, but just tried to be really tough, stick in there, make her hit one more ball,” Navarro said.
“I felt like if I could scrap out a few longer points, maybe put some pressure on her, I felt like I could come back and maybe close it out in two sets.
Emma Navarro through to the next round. Getty
“Happy with how I was able to do that.”
Navarro, the No.13-seeded American who had never even won a match in the main draw of her home major before this year, advanced to face No.2 Aryna Sabalenka or seventh-seeded Zheng Qinwen in the semi-finals.
The 23-year-old Navarro, who ousted the No.3-seeded Gauff in the fourth round, ran through the first set in 29 minutes before the No.26-seeded Badosa opened a 5-1 lead in the second.
But when Navarro broke the Spaniard in the next game, the player who leads the WTA Tour with 18 wins in three sets had a feeling she might not need to play a third.
“I felt like, even though she was up 5-1, 5-2 after that game, I felt like she wasn’t totally confident in her ability to close out that set,” Navarro said.
“So I felt like if I could push back a little bit and make her think a little bit on her service game, maybe I could sneak my way back in there.”
She did, taking six straight games with some help from Badosa, who said she was a “disaster” while dealing with the pressure of trying to reach her first grand slam semi-final.
Navarro also beat Gauff in the fourth round at Wimbledon before losing to eventual runner-up Jasmine Paolini in the next round, a 6-2, 6-1 rout in less than an hour.
But the 2021 NCAA singles champion at Virginia was ready for this match up between New York natives, jumping on Badosa to win the first three games, then seizing the opening Badosa gave her late.
Navarro became the sixth player in the last 40 years to reach the US Open semis without a previous main-draw victory in the tournament, a list that includes recent champions Bianca Andreescu in 2019 and Emma Raducanu in 2021.