Of course, that moment of Frances Tiafoe converting the match point against Rafael Nadal has grown into multiple gifs – those little video snippets that people send each other when they want to express their feelings in creatively funny ways. From Tiafoe there is now: how he roars out his joy. The way he clasps his hands over his head in astonishment. Sending a Queen Elizabeth wave to the audience.
Tiafoe is a veritable cornucopia of these gifs, because probably only colleague Nick Kyrgios can hide his feelings even worse than the 24-year-old American – and because he doesn’t just enjoy his own achievements. Tiafoe also reacts to performances by others, which is why there’s also the not-so-smile (after an insane shot from Roger Federer), heartfelt ball boy hug (after an opponent’s stop) and sober middle finger (after Tommy Paul’s lucky volley). ).
That means: many people only know Tiafoe because they searched for a suitable gif and entered terms like “excited”, “amazed”, “delighted”; maybe also “disappointed” (there is a video of a game against Nadal where he looks like a kid who has had a lollipop taken away). In short: There is a Tiafoe for every emotional state, and probably some people who have nothing to do with tennis have already asked themselves: Who on earth is this guy?
That should change now: Tiafoe has reached the semi-finals at the US Open with a 7: 6 (3), 7: 6 (0), 6: 4 against Andrei Rublev, and it is not only interesting that he did it but much more how he did it – and what that means.
Tiafoe’s style of play electrifies the audience
First that As: Tiafoe is someone who constantly wants to put pressure on the opponent. He wants to control every rally: It starts with high-risk serves (Rublev failed to play nearly 40 percent of game openings back into the field). It continues with groundstrokes that push opponents further and further back – according to statistics from the sports channel ESPN, Rublev moved back an average of 20 centimeters in rallies with each shot from Tiafoe.
And it often ends with him briskly storming the net and ending points with soulful volley stops: he managed 32 points up front, Rublev four. Of course he is often passed or plays a volley into the net or out of bounds. With a success rate of 78 percent (against Nadal it was 74), it is worth it given that he wins less than half of the baseline duels (49 percent against Rublev, 46 against Nadal).
Ball and opponent always in view: Frances Tiafoe wants to control every rally.
(Photo: Kena Betancur/AFP)
This style of play electrifies the audience, so the gifs mentioned are not gimmicks, but also a testament to how Tiafoe exerts emotional pressure on his opponents. Just as one waits for the next freak out with Kyrgios, one follows Tiafoe’s matches spellbound in search of the next gif-capable action.
He’s been doing this for years, and he’s delivered thrilling games at the US Open in particular – which he’s always lost in the end, such as the five-set thrillers against then-favorites John Isner (2016), Roger Federer (2017) and Alexander Zverev (2018). Appearance of the South African Wayne Ferreira, who has been in charge of Tiafoe since 2020: “We have worked a lot to ensure that he reacts better in the big, important, emotional moments,” he says. It’s complicated and takes time: “But look where he is now.” Six tie-breaks at the US Open, he won all six, even one to zero against Rublev.
His parents were destitute immigrants from Sierra Leone
This leads to the larger framework that Tiafoe stretches around success: “I’m proof that anyone can do it,” he says. His bracelet reads: “Why not me? Everyone has an ability. You have to discover it.” His parents were destitute immigrants from Sierra Leone, Tiafoe only started playing tennis because his father worked at the Junior Tennis Champions Center in Maryland, USA. The goal when the parents recognized the talent: to become good enough to finance their studies with a tennis scholarship.
He got even better.
“Everyone loves a Cinderella story, which is what I’ve been delivering right now, my whole life actually,” says Tiafoe. He wants to be an example for young people who may think they’ll never make it: “If just a black, underprivileged kid plays tennis because of me, I’ve already achieved something. That’s why I train so hard, eat well, behave me professionally.”
Another swing to Ferreira: “Of course his story is unique, and I hope that one day it will be made into a movie,” he says. “But: Films are only made about people who win in the end. Then he becomes a role model: when he wins and shows that it’s possible. He realized that and he’s behaving like that now.”
Tough fight in the semifinals against Tiafoe: Carlos Alcaraz needed five hours and 15 minutes to defeat Jannik Sinner.
(Photo: Paul Zimmer/Imago)
The next opponent is the Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz, who defeated Jannik Sinner (Italy) 6: 3, 6: 7 (7), 6: 7 (0), 7: 5, 6: 3 – a match that was in the This sport is likely to go down in history because it lasted five hours and 15 minutes and only ended at 2:50 a.m. local time, later than any game in US Open history. On the other hand, because the two acted in such a way that one sometimes had to think of this legendary Wimbledon final between Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal (2008): Alcaraz fended off a match point in the fourth set, he was behind with a break in the decisive fifth; but he always came back against a grandiose playing Sinner. And then Alcaraz did a behind-the-back slap, which in the future should be filed under “complete madness” in the gif collection.
Casper Ruud (Norway) and Karen Khachanov (Russia) will compete for second place in the final on Friday. Ferreira says he is surprised at his protégé’s recent success; he believes Tiafoe will not reach its full potential until late 2023. On the other hand: Only Ruud had so far reached the semi-finals of a Grand Slam tournament, the French Open final in June, and what is written on Tiafoe’s bracelet applies to each of the remaining four in New York: Why not me?