US Open semifinalist Frances Tiafoe: His wish was granted
Frances Tiafoe 's entry into the US Open semi-finals almost went down with the mad match between Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner. He is at least as sensational - and the American has the best prospects for more.
by Florian Goosmann
last edit:
Sep 08, 2022, 01:13 pm
The story of Frances Tiafoe, it's well known and always great. His parents had come to the United States as immigrants from Sierra Leone, where Papa Constant worked on building a tennis center in Maryland, was then hired as a groundskeeper, and lived in a small room with his kids. Frances and brother Franklin made the best of it: they played tennis every day.
Frances, now 24 years old, has now celebrated the biggest success of his career, he is in the semi-finals of a major tournament for the first time. As the first American since Andy Roddick in 2006. And that after a spotless performance against Andrey Rublev: 7: 6 (3), 7: 6 (0), 6: 4 it was here on Wednesday evening, and above all the tie-break of the second set was one of the highlights of the tournament so far. Because everything worked with Tiafoe, from outstanding stops to impressive serves and return winners.
Tiafoe now against Carlos Alcaraz
In the semifinals on Friday it's against Carlos Alcaraz, the two have played each other once so far, in Barcelona in 2021, on clay. Here, Tiafoe won in straight sets, but that was before the Spaniard's big break, who currently has a shot at No. 1 .
Tiafoe didn't care about the opponent, as he announced after his match - both Alcaraz and Sinner were brutally strong. But "Big Foe" had one wish: "I hope that they will play a super-long marathon match. And then be accordingly tired on Friday," he explained with a grin.
Alcaraz and Sinner with a 5-hour, 14-minute marathon
His wish was granted: the duel between Alcaraz and Sinner lasted 5 hours and 14 minutes, and it was only over at 2:50 a.m. With the press commitments, food, showers and treatment... one can only imagine when Alcaraz went to bed. Probably at sunrise in New York. He will have to make good use of the day off.
Tafoe, meanwhile, may have given up the match in the hotel bed, the regeneration in full swing. And an advantage that should not be underestimated for what is now perhaps the biggest match of his career.
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