Frances Tiafoe made the biggest sensation at the US Open and achieved the biggest victory in his career by knocking Rafael Nadal out of the tournament.
” I played pretty well today. I went out with the belief that I could get it. It helped me that I played against him a couple of times, even though we played against him for several years. I am a different player now, completely different. You see all these young players who, when they play against Rafa, Federer, Novak, ask themselves, ‘will I ever be able to say that I beat one of them?’ I have done it now. I will tell my children and grandchildren about it. I beat Nadal. I hope I won’t play with him again, but if it happens, let me win again.” – began Tiafoe and continued:
Tiafoepoints out that his whole family will be proud of him.
” I am the son of immigrants. My parents are from Sierra Leone, they met in the US. My father wanted us to play tennis to pay for college, we had no money. He has a tremendous passion for the game. Watching them experience my victory over Nadal, I can’t even imagine what was going through their heads. He will not forget this day for the rest of his life,” adds Francis.
He entered the match with a “cool head”.
” I woke up completely relaxed, I wanted to play and go one step further. For the last three years I have been stopped in the fourth round. That was my goal, to move on. It’s all about mental capacity. Rafa is there for every point. He knows how to keep me in the game, but I also know what I’m capable of. I don’t feel any pressure. I have nothing to prove to anyone. I’m here to play great tennis and enjoy it, as you can see. I wouldn’t want to beat Rafa anywhere, maybe only on the Center Court of Wimbledon”.
It is certain that a “new era” in tennis is coming.
“Nick Kyrgos has a high level of tennis. It fills stadiums. Alcaraz has an amazing personality. Siner, Tommy Paul, Fritz, me. There are a lot of guys at a high level. We won’t have the big three, but the big 12. It’s nice to see the dawn of a new era,” concluded Frances Tiafoe.