By Chris Oddo | @TheFanChild | Friday 30 August 2024
new york –Frances Tiafoe he just hasn’t found his winning tennis again – he’s found love.
After his five-set win over Ben Shelton on Day 5 at the Open, Tiafoe talked about some of the struggles he’s had recently and how he overcame them to just get back to who he is.
“I just got my joy back, brother,” he told reporters. “I just want — you start looking outside and being like, I’m blessed to do what I do.”
Tiafoe says his five-set win over Matteo Arnaldi at Wimbledon in the first round sparked a surge. This led to him playing center fielder Carlos Alcaraz in the third round. Although he didn’t win, the experience was key to starting his turnaround.
“I really think if I lost the first round at Wimbledon when I was down two sets to love, I probably wouldn’t even be in this position,” he said. “Playing Wimbledon, getting an O on my feet, I’d never be in the center of the court, I’d never be sitting on the court, nothing.”
“So that joy came again. I wanted to practice. I wanted to be me. I was ready to play.”
Tiafoe also referenced his infamous clown comment and hinted that it may have provided an additional motive.
At Wimbledon, he said: “Literally this week last year I was 10 in the world and now I’m barely seeded here, losing to clowns, I mean… I’m sorry to say it, but I’ll just be honest with you guys.”
On Friday in New York he said he realized he had to keep his word and play better tennis.
“Obviously I put myself in a hot seat by making that clown comment,” he said. “So you need to back yourself up a bit when you make comments like that.”
Tiafoe, who hired David Witt, the former coach of Venus Williams and Jessica Pegula, ahead of Wimbledon, also appreciates the added focus on his return match with his recent surge in form.
“I think today I have returned extremely well. “I thought I made a lot of rebounds, I made him play a lot,” he said. “I think that’s something I’ve really gotten better at since I hired David Witt, focusing a lot on that.
“Before we started (David) was, like, ‘look, you play your return games very calmly. We have to fix it.’ I’m coming back a lot better, I’m making rebounds, I’m making guys play.”
