Frances Tiafoe ready for challenge at US Open after success in Cincinnati: ‘Why not hold up that trophy?’

Frances Tiafoe has been on a roller-coaster ride since last summer, but things appear to be looking up for the American tennis star ahead of the 2024 US Open. Tiafoe has just returned from reaching the final of the Cincinnati Open, the best tournament of his career.

Despite failing to beat world number one Jannik Sinner on Monday, playing in his first ATP Masters 1000 final was a confidence booster for him.

“I felt like everything was falling into place,” Tiafoe told CBS Sports. “I was in a really good place mentally, having more fun playing tennis. I felt like I got my rhythm back. Playing aggressive and finally trusting myself.”

Last year, Tiafoe reached the semifinals of Indian Wells in March. Two months later, he earned a ticket to the third round of the French Open. Tiafoe achieved the highest ranking of his career at No. 10 in June 2023. That July, he launched the Frances Tiafoe Fund and achieved “a very meaningful personal accomplishment” by starting a series of community tennis clinics across the country with the help of a partnership with Clif Bar.

Life seemed great, but things on the court turned inconsistent very quickly. After holding on to his No. 10 ranking for nine weeks, Tiafoe began to slip and found himself out of the top 20 in March 2024.

“I was No. 10 in the world and playing really well. Winning a lot of matches,” he said. “I had the world in my grasp and then I let loose a little bit.”

Tiafoe parted ways with coach Wayne Ferreira in December and reunited with former USTA coach Diego Moyano. Since July, he is now with David Witt, who has worked with Venus Williams and Jessica Pegula. It’s definitely a lot of changes in a short amount of time, but Tiafoe said the biggest change for him has been his mental approach.

In Cincinnati, he found himself trailing 2-5 in the third set of his semifinal against world No. 15 Holger Rune. His goal has always been to “put up a fight” against any opponent, and it was this tenacity that saw him force a tiebreaker and eventually win the match 4-6, 6-1, 7-6 (7-4).

“Being grateful, being more grateful,” Tiafoe said. “I think I had a lot of hesitation and I was questioning myself. It’s not real. It’s just what you have in your mind. It just wasn’t fun because I was playing nervous and stressed.

“I let myself loose and now it’s ‘whatever happens, happens.’ I’m grateful, win or lose. Mindset is everything.”

Heading into the last Grand Slam of the season, Tiafoe wants to do something he’s never done before: win his first major trophy. Confidence will be key, and right now he’s feeling good about where he is, while also making sure he focuses on taking one thing a day at a time.

“I would definitely like to win it, I think I have the ability to,” he said. “First and foremost, you want to put yourself in that second week… but why not? Why not hold that trophy up?”

Tiafoe has come close to that goal before, and his best Grand Slam performance actually came at the US Open in 2022 when he made the semi-finals.

“You have a week [the Cincinnati Open] And suddenly you’re back in the same position again,” Tiafoe said. “You feel like, ‘I’m who I said I was’ again. Tennis has its ups and downs, but it’s about handling the ups. That downturn was longer than I wanted, but things started falling into place at the right time. I’m now ready to start playing the best tennis of my career.”

The Cincinnati Open has certainly set the stage for an exciting tournament in New York. World number three Carlos Alcaraz – the defending champion at the French Open and Wimbledon – played the “worst match” of his career and lost to Gael Monfils in the round of 32. World number five Daniil Medvedev also struggled in the same round and lost to Jiri Lehecka in straight sets.

Troubles aren’t fun for those who find themselves on the wrong side, but they certainly make things more interesting.

“Tennis is probably the best sport ever,” Tiafoe said. [Alexander] Zverev, Medvedev, Sinner – very, very tough. I think Alcaraz and [Novak] Djokovic is still a level above, but on any given day he can lose, especially to any of these players, including myself. I think it’s good in that sense… the sport is also getting really trendy, there’s a lot of energy around it.”

The US Open begins on August 26 at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Queens, New York.