All the feels: Arthur Rinderknech, Valentin Vacherot get tears flowing in emotional Shanghai ceremony

Taylor Fritz hadn’t dropped a set all tournament and he kept that run going in Shanghai on Friday, reaching the semifinals of the Masters 1000 event with a 6-3, 6-4 quarterfinal win over David Goffin.

And with his victory over the former No. 7, the current No. 7 is now through to the fifth Masters 1000 semifinal of his career.

TAYLOR FRITZ’S MASTERS 1000 SEMIFINALS (5):
- SFs at 2021 Indian Wells (l. to Basilashvili)
- Won 2022 Indian Wells (d. Rublev in SFs and Nadal in F)
- SFs at 2023 Monte Carlo (l. to Rublev)
- SFs at 2024 Madrid (l. to Rublev)
- SFs at 2024 Shanghai (TBD)

Additionally, he joins an impressive list: Fritz is just the eighth American man to reach five or more Masters 1000 semifinals since the Masters 1000 level of tournament began in 1990.

He’s the first American man born in 1990 or later to do it.

AMERICAN MEN TO REACH 5+ MASTERS 1000 SEMIFINALS:
32: Andre Agassi
31: Pete Sampras
20: Andy Roddick
18: Michael Chang
14: Jim Courier
13: John Isner
6: Mardy Fish
5: Taylor Fritz

This is the first time Fritz has reached the semifinals of a Masters 1000 event without dropping a set.

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Both of Fritz and Goffin’s previous encounters had gone to a deciding set, and they split those, 1-1, but this one broke the pattern.

There was some back-and-forth early in the first set, with Fritz originally jumping out to a 3-0 lead, then Goffin getting the break back to catch up to 3-2—but Fritz broke again in the next game for a 4-2 lead and eventually served out a one-set lead.

After another two holds to start the second set, Fritz broke again for a 2-1 lead and the two traded holds from there until it was all over.

Goffin was going for his second Top 10 win of the tournament, having beaten world No. 3 Alexander Zverev in the fourth round, but the world No. 7 was just too sharp, finishing with a 3:2 ratio of winners to unforced errors, 24 to 16, including 10 aces to zero double faults.

Fritz still hasn’t dropped a set in Shanghai—it’s actually the first time he’s reached the semis of a Masters 1000 event without losing one.

Up next will be the winner of the match between world No. 4 Novak Djokovic and No. 65-ranked Czech teenager Jakub Mensik.

Maiden Shanghai semi-final ☝️@Taylor_Fritz97 defeats Goffin 6-3 6-4 to reach his first Masters 1000 hard-court SF since winning Indian Wells in 2022.#RolexShanghaiMasters pic.twitter.com/Kul4B8uHtA
— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) October 11, 2024