Fritz on reaching US Open final: 'It is a lifelong dream come true'

pDelight, pride, relief. All emotions which were evident on a href='https://www.atptour.com/en/players/taylor-fritz/fb98/overview'Taylor Fritz/a’s face Friday night at the a href='https://www.atptour.com/en/tournaments/us-open/560/overview'US Open/a after he reached his first major final. Following his epic five-set win against countryman a href='https://www.atptour.com/en/players/frances-tiafoe/td51/overview'Frances Tiafoe/a, the American opened up on the joy he was feeling following the biggest victory of his career./p

p“It hit me when he [Eubanks] said the thing about how I'm in the finals and the crowd was cheering,” Fritz said in his post-match press conference. “It's just kind of like how I am. I'm more of an emotional person when I'm happy. When I'm really happy I cry at happy endings of movies and not at sad stuff. That's kind of just how I am./p

p“It's just joy, the crowd cheering and kind of that realisation, like ‘Wow, I'm in the finals of the a href='https://www.atptour.com/en/tournaments/us-open/560/overview'US Open/a. It's such a lifelong dream come true. Something I've worked my whole life for to be in this situation. I think just kind of like realising that got me a little bit choked up.”/p

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pFritz is now just one win away from ending the United States’ 21-year wait for a male major singles champion. The last man to do so was a href='https://www.atptour.com/en/players/andy-roddick/r485/overview'Andy Roddick/a at Flushing Meadows in 2003./p

pFritz is excited about the current state of American tennis, with Friday’s opponent Tiafoe as well as a href='https://www.atptour.com/en/players/tommy-paul/pl56/overview'Tommy Paul/a, a href='https://www.atptour.com/en/players/sebastian-korda/k0ah/overview'Sebastian Korda/a, a href='https://www.atptour.com/en/players/ben-shelton/s0s1/overview'Ben Shelton/a all inside the Top 17 in the PIF ATP Live Rankings./p

p“I think it gives hope and shows that we're knocking on the door of winning a Slam, and we have this generation, this group of guys where there's four or five of us that are actually at this level,” Fritz said./p

p“I mean, it shows that we're all moving in the right direction. I think that whenever one of us does something, the others follow, and the others get belief from it. I think this is just the start for all of us.”/p

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pFritz battled hard against Tiafoe and was staring defeat in the face when he trailed 4-6, 7-5, 4-6 in front of an electric crowd on a href='https://www.atptour.com/en/players/arthur-ashe/a063/overview'Arthur Ashe/a Stadium. However, the 12th seed dug deep and turned the match around./p

pFritz, who is up five spots to No. 7 in the PIF ATP Live Rankings, is pleased with the resilience he showed./p

p“I think one thing that's never been in question is just like my heart and how I'm always going to compete no matter what,” said Fritz, who leads Tiafoe 7-1 in the pair’s Lexus ATP Head2Head series./p

p“What I just kept telling myself was just to keep fighting and to keep working, and if I don't give it everything I have and just lock in as much as I possibly can, I'm going to regret it forever… I had to stay with him in some of those really long, crazy rallies, because I wanted to show him that I wasn't going to go away, that I was feeling fit and I was going to keep running for everything and fighting for every point.”/p

pOn Sunday, Fritz will be the first American man to compete in a major final since Roddick at a href='https://www.atptour.com/en/tournaments/wimbledon/540/overview'Wimbledon/a in 2009. World No. 1 a href='https://www.atptour.com/en/players/jannik-sinner/s0ag/overview'Jannik Sinner/a stands between Fritz and glory, but the 26-year-old is feeling confident about his chances./p

p“I've always enjoyed playing him. To be honest, I don't think that I'm going to be put in a more stressful situation than I was today than playing in a final. I think today was much more stressful for me than playing the final. I just feel good,” Fritz said. “I have a feeling I'm going to come out and play really well and win. When I play good tennis, I think that level is good enough to win.”/p

pSinner and Fritz are tied at 1-1 in their Lexus ATP Head2Head series. The final will take place on a href='https://www.atptour.com/en/players/arthur-ashe/a063/overview'Arthur Ashe/a Stadium on Sunday from 2 p.m. EDT/ 8 p.m. CET./p

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