Monday morning AEST will crown a brand new US Open champion in the men's singles as world No.1 Jannik Sinner and top-ranked American Taylor Fritz prepare to go head-to-head.
The first semi-final earlier in the day paired Sinner and Draper in a tight three-set tussle, but the Australian Open winner capitalised on his opponent's struggle with an upset stomach to claim a 7-5, 7-6(3), 6-2 win.
After claiming one of the points of the tournament with a thunderous forehand from Draper's overhead smash, Sinner fell awkwardly on his wrist mid-rally as he required medical attention in the next change of ends.
Having not dropped a set all tournament, Draper's inconsistent serve did the 25th seed no favours, committing 10 double faults and serving a low 49 per cent of first serves.
However, Sinner ultimately prevailed to book his place in the US Open decider amid humid conditions at Arthur Ashe Stadium.
“First of all, me and Jack know each other well. We are good friends," said Sinner post-match. "It was a physical match. I just tried to stay there mentally. He’s so tough to beat. It’s a special occasion... just happy to be in the final here.”
In the all-American battle during primetime, 12th seed Taylor Fritz edged a tiring Frances Tiafoe from two-sets-one down and claimed a sensational 4-6, 7-5, 4-6, 6-4, 6-1 victory in three hours and 20 minutes.
Fritz flew out of the gates with a handy 3-0 advantage, but was broken on back-to-back occasions to concede the opening set.
The serving performance from both men in the following set was impeccable, taking just over 20 minutes to level the scores at 4-4, before a dodgy service game by Tiafoe ensured at least four sets.
A gruelling 31-shot rally for Fritz to hold in the seventh game in set four took the wind out of Tiafoe’s sails - completely void of any ounce of energy.
Up 30-0 on serve, the turning point in the match was Tiafoe losing concentration and gifting the set to his opponent, as Fritz carried the momentum forward and secured a commanding 4-0 lead in the decider.
From there, Fritz held his nerve to become the first American man since Andy Roddick in 2006 to reach the US Open final.
Asked by Christopher Eubanks in the on-court interview about what it means to reach a Grand Slam final, an emotional Fritz responded: "It's the reason I do what I do. It's the reason why I work so hard. I mean, I'm in the final of the US Open."
Women's Doubles Final Glory for Ostapenko/Kichenok
2017 French Open singles winner Jelena Ostapenko has added a major doubles title to her name alongside Ukrainian partner Lyudmyla Kichenok.
The seventh seeds defeated Zhang Shuai and Kristina Mladenovic 6-4, 6-3 to win the women's doubles event at Flushing Meadows without dropping a set.
Women's Singles Final Preview:
World No.2 Aryna Sabalenka will seek redemption for her defeat at this stage last year against Coco Gauff, aiming to win her first Grand Slam outside of Australia against first-time major finalist Jessica Pegula.
The crowd will be on Pegula's side given her American blood, but Sabalenka admitted after her semi-final victory that she has learned from her mistakes last year facing a pro-American crowd.
"Last year [during the US Open final] they were just super loud, even during the point. It was that loud, so it was blocking my ears, so [it was] much pressure," admitted Sabalenka.
"I think the mistake was that I was focusing on myself, but I didn't think that she's actually also on the same court, feeling the same loudness from the crowd, and we [were] all in the same conditions. Yeah, they're cheering for her, but how can they help her to win the match? Only if I let them get into my head and only if I'm gonna just lose myself, you know, get crazy."
Pegula arrives having broken her duck of six Grand Slam quarter-final exits, but the 30-year-old trails the head-to-head 2-5.
The final commences tomorrow morning at 6am AEST.
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