Frances Tiafoe was the man who gave the decisive point to Team World in the 2022 Laver Cup. Frances won a great match against Stefanos Tsitsipas after saving 4 match points to provide an unassailable 13-8 lead to his team.
Unfortunately, the entertaining American player was heavily insulted on Instagram and Twitter after he and Jack sock defeated Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer on day one. That was Federer’s last match and the occasion was a sort of celebration for the career of the Swiss Maestro. Federer and Nadal had a match point in the final tie-break, but they were not able to convert it, and eventually Tiafoe and Sock won the match.
Hitting Federer and Nadal at the body
Some tennis fans were utterly upset not only for the outcome but also for the fact that Tiafoe kept on blasting missiles at the body of both Federer and Nadal. Once Frances managed to hit Federer rather strongly. That is completely legit in doubles, but that behaviour looked out of place for some fans who thought that the match was just a special farewell. That style looked not respectful also considering that both Federer and Nadal were completely out of shape and they wanted just to enjoy the occasion.
Nevertheless, it’s also worth noticing that Federer and Nadal were not upset at all with Tiafoe and the point won in that match was also decisive for Team World to conquer the trophy.
Here are some comments posted on Instagram on a picture published by Frances with his girlfriend taken during the Laver Cup gala dinner.
Tiafoe going for bodies of Nadal, Federer, Djokovic😂😅pic.twitter.com/Ji5ZsC2Dl0
— Llama 𝕊𝕒𝕪𝕤 ☄🌠🚀 (@tennis_lol) September 24, 2022
All under Tiafoe’s pic with his girlfriend like Federer would be so ashamed of this nasty behavior. Some fans really scoop so low sometimes like these guys are real people with feelings, be respectful. They are just doing their jobs pic.twitter.com/q7W0meEFgh
— pauli (@pinkclaykacz) September 25, 2022
https://twitter.com/RitsonLFC/status/1573454593526226945?s=20&t=hyeiJiX6J-3hKC3lDmTD5w
#Tiafoe is the most hated tennis player in the world right now!
The beast hit the ball both #Nadal and #Federer #LaverCup— Sadat Younis (@sadat_younis) September 23, 2022
Tiafoe hitting directly at Federer and Nadal tonight Laver Cup shows why he will never be considered a tennis great like those two. Nadal and Federer had ample opportunities to hit at him and chose sportsmanship over brat like manner!!!
— Bill Koehnen (@BillKoehnen) September 24, 2022
https://twitter.com/feelspecialplz/status/1573455183006269448?s=20&t=hyeiJiX6J-3hKC3lDmTD5w
Tiafoe plugged Federer during the match from virtual point blank range. It was definitely unnecessary & in my opinion trashy. Like wtf was that? He also gunned 100mph FH at Nadals head. He didn’t hit that FH against Alcaraz at The USO. it was more than just not letting RF win
— RT (@NewNYCYork) September 25, 2022
Frances Tiafoe in 2022
LLWLWLWLLW Currently ranked no.19 (career-high), Tiafoe played his last match on the 25th of September when he overcame world no.6 Stefanos Tsitsipas 1-6 7-6(11) 10-8 in the round robin in the Laver Cup (draw).
This season Tiafoe owns a 27-20 match record. Frances Tiafoe’s best performance of the present year was getting to the final in Estoril.
He is also scheduled to play in Tokyo (Rakuten Japan Open) after Seoul. The main draw will start on the 26th of September.
Tiafoe is expected to play next in Seoul (Korea Open). He is should start to play the tournament from the qualifications that will start on 24th of September. The main draw will commence on the 26th of September.
Rafael Nadal in 2022
Currently ranked no.3, Rafael played his last match on the 5th of September when he surrendered to world no.19 Francis Tiafoe 6-4 4-6 6-4 6-3 in the 4th round of the U.S. Open (draw).
This year the Spaniard has a compiled 38-5 record. Rafael has won 4 titles in 2022 in Melbourne, Australian Open, Acapulco and French Open. Nadal was the runner-up in Indian Wells.
Frances Tiafoe and Rafael Nadal played each other 3 times. Their current head to head is 2-1 for Nadal. Before, the last time they locked horns, Frances Tiafoe won 6-4 4-6 6-4 6-3 in the 4th round in New York (U.S. Open) on the 5th of September 2022.
Here the highlights.
Roger Federer in 2022
Currently the world no.97, Federer played his last match on the 7th of July 2021 when he was defeated by world no.10 Hubert Hurkacz 6-3 7-6(4) 6-0 in the quarter in Wimbledon (draw).
Presently, during this year the Swiss has a 0-0 match record.
