In 2022, Frances Tiafoe became the talk of the town when he made it all the way to the semifinals at the US Open. A jam-packed Arthur Ashe Stadium saw the brilliance of ‘Big Foe’ as he started the match on the front foot by taking away the first set from Carlos Alcaraz. However, despite that relentless fight, the American failed to secure a spot in the final as Alcaraz took him down in a five-set thriller. Following that defeat, Tiafoe said, “I am going to come back and I will win this thing one day. I proved that I can play with the best and I’m capable of winning Grand Slams.” Even last year, she made it to the SF at the US Open, but again his journey was cut short in another five-set battle against his compatriot Taylor Fritz. Although Tiafoe couldn’t do much at the AO this year, he made it to the QF at Roland Garros. Can he now make a similar deep run at Wimbledon? Well, CoCo Vandeweghe has something to say on this.
If we take a look at his performances this season, Frances Tiafoe has a win-loss record of 17-13 (as per the ATP Tour’s website) this season and his best record this season was reaching the final at the ATP Houston. Over there, he was defeated by Jenson Brooksby by 4-6,2-6. Although he reached the QF at the French Open this year, Tiafoe was defeated by Lorenzo Musetti by 2-6,6-4,5-7,2-6 in that match. Following that came yet another setback at the HSBC Championships, where he went down to the world number 199, Daniel Evans, by 7-5,6-2 in the R32. Looking at his poor start on grass this season, what does Vandeweghe have to say about his chances at Wimbledon?
The two-time quarterfinalist (2015,2017) at Wimbledon, CoCo Vandeweghe shared her thoughts about Frances Tiafoe’s recent defeat by saying, “It’s a bit disappointing, but I think we can’t forget the hangover of coming off of a Grand Slam like Roland Garros and then going straight into the grass-court season. There is no time to really feel your feet underneath you and that transition is very different.” What about his chances at Wimbledon? Vandeweghe further added, “If it was hard to grasp, I think it would be a lot easier. I think Foe (Frances Tiafoe) just needs to really get as much confidence as he can, as many matches as he can. I don’t think to win another title on grass this year. But I think if he gets enough matches, he can make a second week at Wimbledon easily.“
Tennis – Wimbledon – All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, London, Britain – July 5, 2024 Frances Tiafoe of the U.S. reacts during his third round match against Spain’s Carlos Alcaraz REUTERS/Isabel Infantes
Last year, Tiafoe started his campaign with a hard-fought victory against Italy’s Matteo Arnaldi. Following that victory, he realized, “Literally this week last year I was 10 in the world and now I’m barely seeded here (at Wimbledon). Losing to clowns, I hate to say it but I’m just gonna be honest.” Although he won his next match quite comfortably against Brona Coric, his journey at the 2024 Wimbledon came to an end against his familiar rival, Carlos Alcaraz.
Alcaraz defeated him by 5-7,6-2,4-6,7-6(2),6-2. It was their first meeting after the 2022 US Open, and while drawing a comparison between those two matches, Tiafoe said, “But I think this one hurts a little more than the Open. I feel like the Open, I was kind of hanging on for dear life. This one was more one I thought was kind of on my racquet at times. But in this situation of everything that happened before, leading in, I think this one I can honestly take confidence from and can’t hang my head too low.“
Can Tiafoe come up with a better run at Wimbledon this year? Time will tell! But his performance against Evans at the Queen’s Club Championships has now raised quite a few eyebrows in the tennis world.
“Had mentally tapped out” – Former British number one analyzes Frances Tiafoe’s defeat to Dan Evans
Earlier this year, in an interview, Frances Tiafoe claimed that winning a major title is the biggest goal in his career. “Ultimately, I want to stay in the top 10. I want to be No. 8, I want to be No. 7, No. 5, No. 1, obviously. But, I mean, flat-out truth, whether No. 10 or No. 5, I just want to win a Slam at this point. I don’t really care if I’m No. 3.” He said, being a world number 3 without a Slam in his bag would be a bit hard to digest for him. But being inside the Top 20 with a major title would mean to lot.
Talking about winning Grand Slams, he further added, “Now it’s about winning Wimbledon. If I do that, I don’t know if you’ll see me again. No, I’m joking, but it will be one hell of a day.” His previous best record at Wimbledon was reaching the fourth round in 2022. But this year, considering his performance in the previous tournament, there have already been quite a few question marks about his chances.
The 35-year-old, Dan Evans, was handed a wildcard in this tournament, and guess what? He couldn’t have asked for a better result! Evans received a standing ovation from the crowd after securing his first win over a Top-20 player since 2023. Following this victory, the Brit said, “I didn’t know he was top 20, but I knew he was very good. I’m happy to play some good tennis because it has been few and far between.”
While sharing his thoughts on this match on BBC, John Lloyd heaped praise on Evans for putting Tiafoe on the back foot right from the word ‘go’ in this match. But talking about the American, he added, “Tiafoe is used to dominating rallies, and he couldn’t. You could see the last two games, Tiafoe had mentally tapped out. He just did not know any way to get through the defence. It was so solid, his movement.” What are your thoughts on Tiafoe’s performance in this match, and how far do you think he can go at Wimbledon this year?
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