Francis Tiafoe’s time in New York ends in U.S. Open semifinal

Francis Tiafoe and New York City sports fans fell in love during the U.S.

Open.

But like the New York Knicks , Tiafoe ran out of gas before the finals.

TAYLOR FRITZ IS HEADED TO THE #USOpen FINAL!! pic.twitter.com/JlvRecGO75 Taylor Fritz defeated Tiafoe Friday night in an all-American U.S.

Open semifinal.

Tiafoe took two of the first three sets, but faltered, dropping the fourth set and losing all his service games in a 6-1 final-set drubbing.

Tiafoe, who was ranked No.

20 going into the tournament, won the hearts of the NYC crowd by wearing Knicks jerseys before each of his matches.

Last week, he wore a Jalen Brunson jersey to his match in the round of 64, calling him the man.

Brunson, hes the man here, hes damn near bigger than Jay-Z Francis Tiafoe pic.twitter.com/h2ikOneyv9 Later he sported the jerseys of Julius Randle, and before the semifinal, Carmelo Anthony, who like Tiafoe is from Maryland.

Frances Tiafoe warming up today in a Julius Randle jersey.

He wore a Jalen Brunson jersey earlier this #USOpen .

Winning over New Yorkers one Knicks jersey at a time.

pic.twitter.com/z8Mslxdzom Frances Tiafoe rockin the hometown Knicks at practice ahead of his US Open semifinal match : ESPN pic.twitter.com/G63o4kwP7Z But like the injury-riddled Knicks, who lost in the second round of the NBA playoffs to the Indiana Pacers, Tiafoe wore down.

Fritz got a slight edge in a fourth set full of long rallies, then broke Tiafoes serve to even the match.

Tiafoe didnt win a service game the rest of the way.

Taylor Fritz is on a roll! He gets a break early in the 5th set.

pic.twitter.com/FcvpMpMWpg Perhaps Tiafoe was emulating his favorite basketball team too much, or perhaps he needs to start training with Josh Hart.

Or perhaps, like the Knicks, the 26-year-old Tiafoe is just entering his prime as a title contender.

Hes also now a rival of Australian Nick Kyrgios, a die-hard fan of the Boston Celtics.

Kyrgios, working as a commentator as he recovers from injuries, took a tongue-in-cheek shot at Tiafoes jersey choices.

"I know I'm in New York but come on man...Randle?...Where's an Al Horford jersey?...A Luke Kornet jersey would look better..." Celtics fan Nick Kyrgios watching Francis Tiafoe practice at the US Open today pic.twitter.com/s556JEEHME Tiafoe may have fallen short, but that only makes him more relatable to New York sports fans, who havent had a major sports championship in a dozen years.

The Knicks and Tiafoe both have a bright future, even if they havent proved they can win the big one yet..

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