Following three consecutive losses to Kevin Anderson, Frances Tiafoe has gotten his revenge with a shock four sets win at the Australian Open.
Tiafoe, who trailed the match by a set and 0-3, roared his way back to stun the fifth seed 4-6, 6-4, 6-4, 7-5. Recording only his third victory over a top 10 player at the age of 20. The gripping encounter saw Tiafoe hit 10 aces alongside 47 winners to secure a place in the third round of a grand slam for only the second time in his career.
“It means the world to me,” Tiafoe said moments afterwards.
“I lost to him three times last year and when I was down a set and a break it looked like it would happen again. I dug deep and went to a different place.”
The admirable fight back by the world No.39 continues Anderson’s lacklustre record at the Melbourne Major. The South African Wimbledon finalist has failed to score back-to-back wins seven times, of which six of those were first round losses. In his latest performance, he hit 35 unforced errors and won only 49% of his second service points.
“It’s all about competing, how bad you want it and I want it real bad. I’d love to get to the second week of a Slam for the first time,” explained Tiafoe.
Tiafoe, who has long been billed as one of his country’s brightest prospects, currently had one ATP title to his name. At the age of 15 he won the Orange bowl, a prestigious junior tournament. Two years later he became the youngest American man to feature in the French Open draw since 1989. Since then, Tiafoe has enjoyed a steady rise on the tour with both triumphs and setbacks.
It is hoped that his win over Anderson will be the breakthrough Tiafoe needs to reach the next level of men’s tennis. Presently, he is the fourth youngest player in the top 100 after Stefanos Tsitsipas, Alex de Minaur and Denis Shapovalov.
“I’m starting to feel more comfortable finishing the match, not just playing a match.” He said during his press conference.
“These are the matches where they kind of define you and help you feel more and more comfortable to keep winning matches like that.”
“I’m definitely going to remember this one.”
Nobody is unbeatable
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Another American star to triumph on Wednesday was Taylor Fritz, who is just three months older than Tiafoe. Fritz has booked a showdown with Roger Federer after edging out Gael Monfils in a four-set nail-biter in his second round match.
“We all want each other to do well.” Tiafoe commented about his rivalry with the other American players.
“We actually had, me, Macky, Fritz, Tommy, who else is there, Reilly, we had a massive dinner before the tournament started. How crazy is this? We’re all in the main draw. I can remember us playing 12s Orange Bowl or something. We’re all here now, all doing great things. It’s unbelievable.”
Andreas Seppi is the next challenge awaiting Tiafoe. A 34-year-old Italian veteran who made his grand slam debut when his upcoming opponent was just six. It will be the first meeting between the two. Seppi defeated Jordan Thompson 6-3, 6-4, 6-4.
“I take it every match. Everyone is good.” Tiafoe previewed.
“Everyone’s levels… Look at today: he’s (Anderson) 5 in the world, I’m 39, I was able to beat him. It’s so tight now. Anybody plays a good match, you can beat anybody on a given day. You don’t take anybody and underestimate.”
Tiafoe will play his third round match on Friday. A win will move him into the fourth round of a major for the first time.