Not too many things are black and white outside of the movies, but there are fewer tennis players more tailor made to play villain than Alexander Zverev, and Tuesday afternoon, there were few more suited to play hometown hero than Taylor Fritz.

It wasn’t just that Fritz is the United States’ best hope of ending their men’s Grand Slam drought, which dates back to Andy Roddick’s victory here at Flushing Meadows in 2003 (George W. Bush was president, Michael Jordan played his last NBA game, Coco Gauff hadn’t even been born). It was also the fact that advancing to the semifinals would mean that Fritz, seeded 13th, would have to take down the fourth-seeded Zverev, whose poor reputation preceded him.

For the uninitiated, the German has twice been accused of domestic violence, and earlier this year reached an out-of-court settlement before facing trial for allegedly strangling his ex-girlfriend (Zverev did not admit guilt). On the court, Zverev is known for his antagonistic, arrogant demeanor: He has smashed rackets, berated umpires and, in 2022, was ousted from the Mexican Open after he attacked the umpire’s chair with his racket. During the height of the COVID epidemic, he promised to self-isolate after potential exposure during the 2020 Adria Tour, only to be taped partying alongside millionaires a week later (Zverev apologized).

So when Fritz stared down Zverev Tuesday afternoon, it felt like a real life version of Rocky versus Drago — a likable protagonist against a Bond villain, imposing Goldfinger accent and all. And for a minute there, a favorable outcome felt too good to be true: Fritz barely squeaked out the win in the first set, dropped the second set, squandered a three-game lead in the third set before marching back, and simply outworked Zverev in a tiebreak fourth set.

The result was a gritty, 7-6(2), 3-6, 6-4, 7-6(3) win at Arthur Ashe Stadium, an emotional wave to an adoring crowd, and his first spot in a Grand Slam final four.

But this was so much more than that.

It was another sign that American men’s tennis is on the upswing, having for years been dominated by the likes of Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal. It was potentially proof that Fritz, who’s been knocking on the door of true greatness for the last seven years, might be ready for the next step. And it was, for many, a moral victory — the kind that can turn an athlete into an icon.

That’s probably not lost on Fritz, either. He said all the right things in his post-match news conference, but if anyone was in search for some merited gloating, all you had to do was look at X. Roddick, who has no problem losing his title as the last American man to win a Slam, tweeted, “[Expletive] yeah Taylor Fritz.”

Fans, meanwhile, reposted a now-deleted video from Fritz’s girlfriend, fashion influencer Morgan Riddle. After Fritz defeated Zverev at Wimbledon, Riddle posted a video of herself celebrating with the caption, “when ur man wins 4 the girls” — something many interpreted to be a reference to the domestic abuse allegations against Zverev (Riddle later said that this wasn’t her intent, but that hasn’t stopped people on social media for using it as such).

Regardless, Tuesday only served to further cement Fritz’s status as the next great American hope — especially as Frances Tiafoe, primed to be the heir apparent in 2023, has struggled this year. Fritz even has the “aw, shucks” self-effacing part down. When asked about his string of Grand Slam quarterfinal failures, he broke down his ego-saving approach to assessing his past.

And how it eventually failed him.

“I think the mental coping that I was doing for it was, well, every time I was in the quarters I played Djokovic,” he said to laughter. “I think that was my, like, way to just, like, protect my ego.”

“But then I got a look at Wimbledon where I didn’t play Novak in a quarter. I guess my three quarters before were Novak, Novak, and Rafa. So then I got one where I played [Lorenzo] Musetti and he outplayed me and I lost. I think that’s when I was, like, okay, maybe I can’t, that excuse doesn’t quite work out anymore.”

So, he found another way to preserve his ego.

He won. He did it in grand fashion.

And in the process, maybe he can become an American hero 21 years in the making.