American 12th seed Fritz promises to delight the New York crowd if he can end the United States’ 21-year wait for a male Grand Slam singles champion.

If he triumphs against world number one Sinner, Fritz would become the first American man to win a major since Andy Roddick at the 2003 US Open.

Sinner, meanwhile, could become the first player since Guillermo Vilas in 1977 to win his first two Grand Slam titles in the same season after clinching a maiden major at January’s Australian Open.

He would also be the first Italian man to win the Flushing Meadows singles title.

The final begins at 19:00 BST, with commentary available on BBC 5 Live and the BBC Sport website and app.

Speaking after his semi-final win over compatriot Frances Tiafoe, Fritz said it was “a dream come true” to become the first American man since Roddick in 2006 to reach the singles showpiece at Flushing Meadows.

“I’m in the final so I’m going to come out and give everything I possibly have and I know that for a fact,” he added.

Fritz has beaten higher-ranked players Alexander Zverev and Casper Ruud over the past two weeks, but he faces his toughest task yet against Sinner.

Sinner has won all five ATP Tour-level finals he has played this season, with four of those victories arriving on hard courts.

However, Sinner is aware that he will have a partisan crowd against him on Arthur Ashe Stadium.

“Being in America for sure, the crowd will be a little bit more on his side,” he said.

“But it’s normal. It’s like when I play in Italy, so I’m going to accept that.”

Sinner v Fritz head-to-head

Despite facing top seed Sinner, Fritz says he expects the final to be less stressful than his gruelling five-set win over Tiafoe.

“It was to make a US Open final, whoever won it was the American that made it to the final. It’s a stressful situation to be in,” Fritz said.

“It’s different from playing the world number one, who you’re probably not going to be the favourite against.”

The 26-year-old won his first encounter with Sinner at Indian Wells in 2021, but he fell to a 6-4 4-6 6-4 defeat by the Italian at the same tournament last year.

“I’ve always enjoyed playing him [Sinner]. To be honest, I don’t think I’m going to be put in a more stressful situation than I was today,” Fritz added.

Sinner, 22, arrived in New York in top form and is on an 11-match winning streak having won his third ATP Masters 1000 title in Cincinnati last month.

By reaching the US Open final, he has seemingly put the controversy of testing positive for a banned substance earlier this year behind him.

“We went just day by day, really, with not so many expectations,” said Sinner, who beat British number one Jack Draper in the semi-finals.

“I was just trying to find confidence throughout the days. We practised very hard in the days in between trying to prepare each match in the best possible way.”

There will be a focus on Sinner’s left wrist, which he appeared to injure after falling in the second set against Draper.

“The physio loosened it up very fast on court, so I felt OK in the beginning. Then it went away by playing, which is good,” Sinner said in his post-match news conference on Friday.

“Hopefully it’s nothing to be concerned about. I’m quite relaxed, because if it’s something bad, you feel it straightaway a bit more.”

The Serb, seeking a 25th Grand Slam to move past Margaret Court’s record of 24, won 7-6 (7-3) 4-6 6-2 6-3 in hot conditions to reach the semi-finals.

He will play on Friday against Italian fourth seed Jannik Sinner, who defeated Russian fifth seed Andrey Rublev.

“I suffered a lot in the first couple of sets,” top seed Djokovic, 36, said.

“I said [to my team] that this match was not an enjoyable match for me at all.

“It was really difficult to find the right timing. It was really hot while the sun was still out.

“We all know Taylor has got one of the best serves in the world. I knew the kind of threat he poses when he serves on such a high quality.”

Djokovic has won his past 33 singles matches at Melbourne Park and is a clear favourite to defend his title.

Sinner beat Rublev 6-4 7-6 (7-5) 6-3 in a match that finished at close to 01:30 local time on Wednesday morning after the start of the night session was pushed back to 21:00.

The singles matches on Rod Laver Arena did not start until 13:00. Coco Gauff’s win against Marta Kostyuk in the women’s quarter-finals took more than three hours before Djokovic needed almost four to beat Fritz, though Aryna Sabalenka made quick work of her 6-2 6-3 win over Barbora Krejcikova.

Djokovic keeps focus to come through

Djokovic calls the Australian Open his “second home”, such has been his dominance over the years, and this was another masterful display as he saw off the latest younger challenger.

His most recent defeat in Melbourne remains a fourth-round loss against South Korea’s Chung Hyeon in 2018.

With the match starting about 17:00 local time in temperatures of 31C, Djokovic coolly created eight break points in the opening set but became increasingly flustered as he was unable to take any of them.

Djokovic – looking overheated, regularly using ice towels and shouting towards his team – was almost punished when 26-year-old Fritz created two set points at 6-5 with a stunning forehand winner down the line.

However, Djokovic regained his composure to save them and lay the platform to pounce in the tie-break.

Helped by Fritz missing a simple volley for 1-0, Djokovic quickly asserted his authority and wrapped up the opening set after one hour 24 minutes.

Fritz, who had lost all eight of his previous meetings with Djokovic, responded valiantly.

A break of serve in the first game of the second set, before fighting off seven break points, enabled Fritz to level the match.

But he started to be hampered by a foot issue and Djokovic, looking strong as the conditions cooled, broke twice to win the third set.

Now completely in control, Djokovic was under little pressure on his serve and, when he broke for 4-2 in the fourth, the match looked to be heading towards a conclusion.

Fritz rallied once more by immediately breaking serve, but Djokovic broke again before serving out strongly.

‘I’m happy I can play the number one in the world’

Sinner lost to Djokovic in the Wimbledon semi-finals in July and the Italian matched his best performance at a Grand Slam with victory over Rublev in the early hours of Wednesday.

Rublev failed to take two breakpoint chances in the fourth game of the first set, with Sinner then breaking his opponent’s serve minutes later for what proved to be the decisive moment in the opener.

The second set went to a tie-break and Rublev, who has now lost all 10 of his Grand Slam quarter-finals, held a 5-1 advantage before Sinner won six successive points to extend his lead.

Sinner then broke Rublev’s serve in the sixth game of the third set, with the Russian unable to claw the match back.

Sinner had appeared to be struggling with a stomach injury in the second set and was delighted to see off the threat of Rublev.

“It is obviously very tough to play against Andrey Rublev,” he said. “We had some very tough matches already in the past. This was three sets but I could have lost both [first and second] sets.

“I want to thank everyone for staying so long. It’s always a huge pleasure to play here on this court. It doesn’t really matter about the time.

“I’m really excited when we always have these pressure points in. I’m just really trying to stay aggressive and it went my way.”

On Friday’s semi-final with Djokovic, Sinner said: “I’m really lucky to face him again and this is one of the biggest tournaments in the world. I’m happy I can play the number one in the world.

“He won here [many] times so it’s going to be tough. The only thing I can control is I’m going to fight for every ball and then we’ll see what happens.”

In Wednesday’s quarter-final ties, Polish ninth seed Hubert Hurkacz faces two-time finalist and third seed Daniil Medvedev of Russia, before German sixth seed Alexander Zverev plays Spanish world number two Carlos Alcaraz.

The Serb, 36, prevailed 6-1 6-4 6-4 on Arthur Ashe Stadium to continue his pursuit of a record-equalling 24th Grand Slam title.

Djokovic achieved his victory despite temporarily appearing to struggle with the heat and humidity in New York.

The three-time champion will face home hope Ben Shelton in the last four.

Shelton, in contrast to Djokovic, will be appearing in his first Grand Slam semi-final following his win over compatriot Frances Tiafoe.

Djokovic maintained his perfect record in US Open quarter-finals – with this his 13th win in a row at that stage – to overtake Roger Federer for most Grand Slam men’s semi-final appearances.

The victory also moved him within two wins of equalling Australian Margaret Court’s tally of major singles triumphs.

On achieving another record, Djokovic said: “This is the sport that has given me so much in my life. Coming from Serbia, a war-torn country when I was growing up, I faced a lot of adversity.

“I was lucky to encounter some very knowledgeable and passionate people. Without their support, and my parents, I wouldn’t be here without their love and incredible sacrifice.

“That is the long answer for what goes through my head when I hear those numbers [of records he has broken]. There’s a lot of things I am very grateful for.”

Djokovic overcomes physical issues to reach last four

Despite an admirable effort, American Fritz, 25, could not earn any reward as Djokovic delivered a devastating performance in hot temperatures at Flushing Meadows.

The warmest day of the 2023 tournament, with the temperature hitting 32C and high humidity, led to the heat rule being invoked and the roof partially closing to provide shade.

Fritz had a break point in the opening game and showed he would not be overawed by Djokovic when he broke back in game three.

However, Djokovic subdued the growing optimism among the home crowd, efficiently closing out the first set with four successive games.

Despite appearing to struggle with the conditions – the three-time US Open champion crouched down following a couple of points – Djokovic was able to assert himself in set two.

The second seed held firm under pressure, further frustrating Fritz by saving four break points for a 3-1 lead.

Overcoming the physical issues he had faced, Djokovic would not falter and lost just one point in his next three service games.

The third set was by no means straightforward. But, fuelled by the frustration of seeing Fritz immediately break back for 4-4 and angered by the behaviour of an individual in the crowd, Djokovic responded in typical fashion and broke again.

To his credit, Fritz pushed his opponent all the way and reached break point, but Djokovic clinched his second match point after two hours and 35 minutes on court.

The win means Djokovic remains on course for another showdown with top seed Carlos Alcaraz in Sunday’s final, just two months after the 20-year-old edged a thrilling five-set Wimbledon final against the Serb.

Spaniard Alcaraz meets German Alexander Zverev on Wednesday for a place in the last four.

Shelton comes out on top in all-American epic

Shelton became the youngest man to reach the US Open semi-finals in 31 years after the 20-year-old beat Tiafoe in a thrilling quarter-final.

Shelton won the eagerly anticipated encounter 6-2 3-6 7-6 (9-7) 6-2 with the match swinging in his favour after a topsy-turvy third set that saw six breaks in eight games before Shelton won an epic tie-break.

Tiafoe was then broken in the first game of the fourth set, allowing Shelton to close out the match and equal Michael Chang’s run to the last four as a 20-year-old in 1992.

The crowd were on their feet at the end of a pulsating encounter that will give American fans hope Shelton can go to reach the final.

He is seeking to become the first American men’s singles champion in New York for 20 years, since Andy Roddick’s triumph in 2003.

“I feel like I left it all out there,” said Shelton. “Sometimes you have to shut off the brain and close the eyes and just swing. It ended up working out.”