"Blatant favoritism towards American players": Fans angry at US Open SF schedule ft. Frances Tiafoe vs Taylor Fritz & Jannik Sinner vs Jack Draper
The stage is set for two thrilling men's singles semifinals at the 2024 US Open, with an all-American clash between Frances Tiafoe and Taylor Fritz, and a showdown between World No. 1 Jannik Sinner and rising British star Jack Draper. Both matches are scheduled for Friday, September 6.
The action on Friday will kick off with the women's doubles final at 12 PM local time at Arthur Ashe Stadium, featuring Jelena Ostapenko/Lyudmila Kichenok vs Zhang Shuai/Kristina Mladenovic. Zhang and Mladenovic secured their place in the final by upsetting home favorite Taylor Townsend and her partner Katerina Siniakova in the semifinals.
Following that, Sinner and Draper will take to Ashe at 3 PM to compete for a spot in the final. This gives the Italian and the Brit roughly a day and a half of rest before they face each other.
The headline match of the day, featuring Tiafoe and Fritz, is set for the prime evening slot at 7 PM at Ashe. Both players wrapped up their quarterfinals on September 4, giving them more than two days to recover ahead of their much-anticipated clash.
Tennis fans were displeased with the scheduling, and many took to X (formerly Twitter) to express their frustration. One user accused the US Open of "blatant favoritism" towards American players, writing:
"Not surprised by the blatant favoritism towards the American players but that’s simply unfair towards Sinner and Draper who get way less time to rest and recover."
"Absolutely ridiculous," another wrote.
One account posted:
"Good thing is I’m getting to see Penko and Jannik play with European friendly match times. Bad thing is local favoritism in Slams is a disease."
"Sinner and Draper getting way less recovery time," one user wrote.
"The American Bulls*it just to get views in prime time for the all american semifinal and even they know that winner of that match will just get a plate nothing else," another tweeted.
One account commented:
"So at this point they’re not even trying to hide their favoritism."
Frances Tiafoe on US Open 2024 SF against Taylor Fritz: "Hopefully, it's me who wins"
Frances Tiafoe facing compatriot Taylor Fritz in the semifinals of the 2024 US Open guarantees that an American male will reach a Major final for the first time since Andy Roddick at Wimbledon in 2009.
Their matchup also marks the first All-American semifinal at a Grand Slam since 2005, when Andre Agassi defeated Robby Ginepri at Flushing Meadows.
Tiafoe, following his quarterfinal win over Grigor Dimitrov, told the media that his upcoming clash with Fritz is "pretty exciting" and expressed hope that he will come out on top.
"It's only a matter of time you put yourself in positions like it's only a matter of time. The game is open. It's pretty exciting, first potential time, well first time since 09, and, yeah, hopefully, it's me [who wins]," the 26-year-old said.
Fritz and Tiafoe have faced each other seven times on the ATP Tour, with the former leading their head-to-head 6-1. Tiafoe won their first encounter in the opening round of the 2016 Indian Wells Masters in three sets.