NEW YORK : American Frances Tiafoe reached the U.S. Open semi-final for the second time in three years on Tuesday after Bulgarian Grigor Dimitrov retired injured from their match while trailing 6-3 6-7(5) 6-3 4-1.
Tiafoe with next meet 12th seed Taylor Fritz in an all-American clash with both players aiming to break a 21-year U.S. men’s major drought in a tournament where many of the top contenders were eliminated early on.
Ninth seed Dimitrov, who had to retire with injury during his fourth round tie against Daniil Medvedev at Wimbledon this year, left after the third set for medical treatment and slogged through a few games in pain as his team urged him to retire.
Tiafoe had a muted celebration and offered his opponent an embrace at the net, with the crowd already starting to shuffle out of Arthur Ashe Stadium.