Frances Tiafoe returns to US Open quarters, beating Alexei Ppyrin
Frances Tiafoe, after an unanticipated pep talk from Serena Williams, defeated Alexei Popyrin on Sunday night, becoming the first American player to reach the three-straight US Open quarterfinals since Andy Roddick almost 20 years ago.
Sep 1, 2024, 11:37 PM ET
NEW YORK — A just one point of losing in the set his opponent on the court, Frances Tiafoe was looking for the positive side of her.
At the very least, he thought that he’d be able to get rid of his sweaty clothes and shoes.
Just a few minutes later He had not changed his clothes. He was changed at his room during the game.
Tiafoe was able to take the second set, and went through to get through to US Open quarterfinals for the third consecutive year, beating Alexander Popyrin 7-6, 6-4 (3) 2-6 6-3, 7-6 (3) on Sunday evening.
“The second set was a huge, huge win for me,” Tiafoe declared. “You know, 5-3, 40-love, him serving, how good he serves, that was really, really big. To break there and then to win that set was huge.”
The No. 20 seed will try to achieve the highest Grand Slam result of his career when he takes on the No. nine player Grigor Dimitrov on Tuesday to earn an opportunity to play in the semifinals.
Tiafoe was defeated by the eventual Champion Carlos Alcaraz in the 2022 round and was knocked out at the quarterfinals stage in the quarterfinals by Ben Shelton.
Tiafoe was the very first American male to make it through the three-straight US Open quarterfinals since Andy Roddick from 2006 until 2008. Pete Sampras and Andre Agassi are the only American players since 2000 who have made it to the quarterfinals in New York three straight times.
Then there was the fact that it was a disappointing beginning to the season, before Tiafoe got hot on the hard-court swing that led to his first major tournament, the US Open.
“Everything is happening when it’s meant to happen,” Tiafoe stated. “I’m glad it’s happening now because this is the most important time for me.”
Tiafoe did not require any extra motivation prior to Sunday’s game, however, he said that his surprise visit to the stadium and a surprise pep talk from the 23-time major champion Serena Williams inspired him like never before.
“Telling me she’s always following no matter what, telling me it’s so good to see now that I’m done, you’re the guy of color playing and doing well,” He told me.
“I’m, like, damn. That’s really, really cool that she sees me as that.”
Williams made her return to tournament on Saturday on her first appearance since her last match in Arthur Ashe two years ago and was seen again on Sunday afternoon, enjoying the action.
“It was really cool to have her want to talk to me before a match and really say she wants me to do this thing and that I’m capable of doing it,” Tiafoe stated. “I don’t think it will hit me like that if anybody else said it to me.”
Williams may, however, be unsure of who to support in the event that Tiafoe and Dimitrov play in the next round, since she considers Dimitrov as a Bulgarian as a friend for a long time. Dimitrov added that they also shared a motivational speech on Saturday and was watching from the sidelines as he defeated Andrey Rublev at the weekend.
For Tiafoe He turned the tables on his game around late into the set when Popyrin held 5-3 advantage and the chance to draw it up to a set. Tiafoe was able to win the next five games to break, and then quickly won the tiebreaker, jumping to an advantage of 4-1.
Popyrin, the No. 28 seeds from Australia defeated the defending champion Novak Djokovic on Friday in order to make it into in the 4th round the Grand Slam for the first time. However, he was convinced that he could be further ahead if not resigned from his second match.
“Definitely a lost opportunity,” Popyrin stated. “I’ve been saying all week that I think against these top players you have to take your chances when you have them. Obviously 5-3, 40-love up serving, it’s a really big choke from my end.”
No. twelve seed Taylor Fritz won earlier on Sunday, and another American, Tommy Paul who will take on No. 1 ranked Jannik Sinner from Italy during the 4th round on of the tournament on Monday. If Paul be victorious the tournament, he’ll be joined by Tiafoe as well as Fritz in giving an U.S. three men in the quarterfinals of Flushing Meadows again for the third time in a row this year.
The last time several participants from the hosts nation competing in the US Open men’s quarterfinals twice in a row was 2001, and in 2002.
Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.