Taylor Fritz v Frances Tiafoe: Prediction, Tips and Odds

Taylor Fritz and Frances Tiafoe are both bidding to break new ground and make their maiden Grand Slam final and they are sure to be roared on to some tune by their home faithful at the Arthur Ashe Stadium.

This is a first Grand Slam semi-final for Fritz whereas Tiafoe reached the last-four of the US Open two years ago, when he suffered a five-set defeat to Spanish sensation Carlos Alcaraz.

Tiafoe will be looking to go one better at his home Grand Slam but he faces a stern test of his credentials against fellow American Fritz, who has dominated their head-to-head battle to date.

Fritz has won six of his seven meetings with Tiafoe and victories over Matteo Berrettini, Casper Ruud and Alexander Zverev at this year’s US Open suggest he is playing some of the best tennis of his career.

Tiafoe, who is the world number 20 and eight places below Fritz in the rankings, has also claimed some notable scalps at Flushing Meadows, headlined by victories over Ben Shelton, Alexei Popyrin and Grigor Dimitrov.

Taylor Fritz v Frances Tiafoe betting tips and predictions

Taylor Fritz to win & both players to win a set - 6/5

This is a rivalry that Fritz has been in complete control of, winning their last six meetings, and the world number 12 is fancied to maintain that dominance and make his maiden Grand Slam final.

Both players are going to have plenty of support on home soil but Fritz looks in some serious form, highlighted by his four-set win over fourth seed Zverev in the quarter-final.

The 26-year-old has become more consistent in Grand Slams and quarter-final runs at the Australian Open and Wimbledon this season suggested that it may not be long before he challenges for some major silverware.

The early exit of Novak Djokovic, who could have been his semi-final opponent, helps matters and this is a contest he should be confident of winning.

His big serve and powerful groundstrokes are clearly well suited to playing against Tiafoe, who has lost four of those last six meetings in straight sets.

That said, Fritz is bound to have some nerves given the stakes in his first Grand Slam semi-final, whereas Tiafoe will know what to expect having lost out in an epic five-setter against Alcaraz at this stage two seasons ago.

Tiafoe is the ultimate battler and isn’t the type of player to give up, which suggests he can get a set on the board in defeat.

The world number 20 clearly thrives at this time of year - he was also a US Open quarter-finalist last season - and he has had to dig deep throughout this competition.

The 26-year-old has dropped sets in four of his five tournament wins, which includes coming from behind to win in five against fellow American Ben Shelton, and he will need to call upon all of that never-say-die character in this last-four rumble.

But Fritz may ultimately possess too many weapons and backing him to win in four or five sets at 6/5 is the approach to take here. His last two wins over Ruud and Zverev were recorded in four and this could follow a similar narrative.

Over 9.5 games in the first set - 8/13

With both players looking extremely strong on serve, early breaks may be hard to come by and going over 9.5 games in the opening set should be a solid wager. A score of 6-4 or better would result in a successful bet and tensions are sure to be riding high in the early exchanges.

Nine of the last 13 sets this pair have contested have gone over 9.5 games and in Fritz’s latest win over Zverev three of the four sets featured at least 10 games, including a first-set tiebreak.

In four of Tiafoe’s five wins at the US Open, there have been at least 10 games in the first set and each of his last three victories over Shelton, Popyrin and Dimitrov have featured at least one tiebreak.

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Taylor Fritz v Frances Tiafoe odds

Taylor Fritz - 2/5
Frances Tiafoe - 2/1

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This article was written by a partner sports writer via Spotlight Sports Group. All odds displayed on this page were correct at the time of writing and are subject to withdrawal or change at any time.