DELRAY BEACH, Fla. (AP) — Peter Gojowczyk of Germany has beaten the last eight American opponents he's faced in ATP tour-level matches and will have a chance to defeat another Sunday when he faces Frances Tiafoe in the Delray Beach Open final.
The 91st-ranked Tiafoe, a wild-card recipient this week, journeyed to his first career ATP final by ousting Denis Shapovalov of Canada 7-5, 6-4 in his first career ATP semifinal Saturday night.
Earlier, the 64th-ranked Gojowczyk beat American Steve Johnson 7-6 (3), 6-3.
Gojowczyk has beaten three Americans already this week: sixth-seeded John Isner in the second round, Reilly Opelka in the quarterfinals and Johnson.
"No, I don't have something about Americans, I like you," said Gojowczyk, laughing. "I don't have a preference, but maybe one more American guy."
If counting tour and non-tour level matches, Gojowczyk has beaten the last 14 Americans he's played since he lost the 2016 Winnetka, Illinois Challenger semifinal to none other than Tiafoe.
In the 20-year-old Tiafoe's mind, Gojowczyk's run against Americans needs to draw to a conclusion.
"He's been taking out all the Americans, but I'm not going to let him take me out, though," said a hopeful Tiafoe. "It's a joke. It's got to stop. I'm going to try to shut that down."
Tiafoe raced to a 3-0 lead in the second set before Shapovalov steadied, but the Canadian was only able to recoup one of the two service breaks he suffered.