Frances Tiafoe has discussed his views on the recent growth of men’s tennis in the United States. Tiafoe stated that during the early years of their careers, he and his fellow countrymen looked up to the Big 3—Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, and Novak Djokovic. He further stated that having shared the court with the illustrious trio has set a standard for the upcoming generation of American players.
After Andy Roddick’s run to the 2009 Wimbledon final, Fritz most recently became the first man from America to compete in a Grand Slam final. At the 2024 US Open, Fritz lost to Jannik Sinner in the second round, despite Tiafoe making it to the semifinals.
Together with Ben Shelton and other Team World members led by fellow Americans John and Patrick McEnroe, Tiafoe and Fritz are in Berlin for the Laver Cup. Day 2 of the competition in Berlin saw Fritz overcome the Russian teammate Alexander Zverev and Tiafoe triumph over Daniil Medvedev of Team Europe.
The world No. 16 spoke at a press conference after winning, discussing the breakthroughs the American men had made throughout the tour.
Tiafoe talked about it and said: “There is a core of us, and Reilly [Opelka] is coming back. Me, Reilly, Tommy, Fritz, I mean, we have been going at it, since, I mean, 11, 12, doing little camps and kind of always pushing each other, always good blood. We were really, really close.”
He added: “Everybody has a different path, but for those core guys, I think we set a precedent that it is possible, because we kind of still played when Roger and Rafa were still elite, and Novak. Well, Novak is going to be elite until he’s 70, but I think that was the biggest reason.”
Frances Tiafoe in 2024
Ranked world no.16, Tiafoe played his last match on the 21st of September when he beat world no.5 Daniil Medvedev 3-6 6-4 10-5 in the round robin in the Laver Cup (draw).
At present, during this year Frances has managed to achieve a 30-21 win-loss record. Frances Tiafoe’s most significant result of the present year was getting to the final in Houston and Cincinnati.
Frances Tiafoe will fight against the world no.12 Stefanos Tsitsipas in the Round Robin. Their current record is 4-3 for Tsitsipas.
The American reached the final in Houston (US Men’s Clay Court Championship) and in Cincinnati (Western & Southern Open).
Frances won 4 titles in his career: 2 on hard courts, 1 on clay courts and 1 on grass courts. (See the list of his titles)
Novak Djokovic in 2024
Currently the world no.4, Djokovic played his last match on the 14th of September when he defeated world no.773 Ioannis Xilas 6-0 6-1 in the Rubber 2 of the Davis Cup (draw).
During this season the Serbian has a composed 32-8 win-loss record. The Serbian conquered 1 title in Paris. Djokovic reached the final in Wimbledon.
He is also scheduled to play in Shanghai (Shanghai Rolex Masters) on the 2nd of October and Paris (Rolex Paris Masters) on the 28th of October.
Frances Tiafoe and Novak Djokovic faced off just twice. The head to head is 2-0 for Djokovic. Before, the last time they played each other, Novak Djokovic won 6-1 6-3 in the round robin in London (Laver Cup) in September 2022.
Rafael Nadal in 2024
Ranked world no.154, Nadal played his last match on the 29th of July when he capitulated to world no.4 Novak Djokovic 6-1 6-4 in the 2nd round in Paris (draw).
Currently, during this season the Spaniard has a 12-7 win-loss record. Rafael Nadal’s best achievement of the present season was getting to the final in Bastad.
Frances Tiafoe, Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal |
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