Frances Tiafoe might have lost his first ATP Challenger final in Tallahassee to Facundo Arguello but the young American still finished the week happy as he received a Wild Card in to the main draw of the French Open.
Arguello defeated Tiafoe 2-6 7-6 6-4 in a exciting match that lasted nearly two and half hours. Tiafoe had chances in the second set of the Tallahassee Challenger to win but a few mental mistakes cost him.
Despite the loss it was Tiafoe’s best performance to date and sets him up nicely for the French Open. The French Open will be Tiafoe’s maiden Grand Slam. He won the French Open Wild Card by being the American man who earned the most ATP World Tour ranking points during the USTA Pro Circuit clay court events.
The College Park, Maryland native not only has the raw talent to perform at the top level but he also brings the entertainment value that tennis fans adore. He feeds off the crowds even at Challenger level events he likes to get the crowd involved as much as possible. During the Tallahassee Final he took a seat in the stands after a long rally, which drew a laugh from the fans but a time violation warning from the chair.
While Tiafoe has the raw ability he is nowhere near ready to compete in a very physical sport. American tennis fans and media have taken notice of him but overhyping players, especially American players, has lead to disappointment. Just look at players like Sam Querrey and Donald Young. Even Bernard Tomic was considered a disappointment for Australia until he was able to turn it around recently.
Tiafoe will need to really step up his physical physic once he stops growing, as the game evolves and continues to become more physical. The ATP website has him listed at 175 pounds but given his 6’2 growing frame he could stand to gain an additional 25 pounds. There were periods during his run in Tallahassee where he just looked like he was completely gassed. Luckily a couple of medical timeouts taken during his last two matches were able to give him the second wind he needed to make it through his matches.
The 6’2 Tiafoe has one of the better serves of the young Americans. He gets a higher percentage of first serves in than fellow American Jared Donaldson who is the same height as him but a year older. The only problem with Tiafoe is when he gets gassed he starts pushing serves in, something that he won’t be able to do when he plays against opponents ranked in the top 75 players in the world.
He is pretty solid from the baseline, seems to be able to change up the speed of the ball pretty well, and has pretty good touch from the back of the court. He also does a pretty nice job at net, though he seems to stop coming to net after one or two bad shots. The 17 year old could use some strengthening in mental toughness and in focus but so can most players, professional or not, at that age. He was able to come back from a two break deficit in the third set before being broken for a third and final time.
Tiafoe not only seems to enjoy the highs of winning but has the makings of a humble young man. After losing to Arguello Tiafoe he laid down his racket and went around the net to give the Argentinean a hug. That is something that is not seen enough in tennis these days and is refreshing to see from a young player.
Tiafoe only turned pro this year, becoming the first tennis player to sign with Roc Nation Sports, which is owned by Jay-Z. In fact every time Tiafoe wins he puts his hands together to make Jay-Z’s iconic “Hova” sign.
Don’t pick Tiafoe to be a dark horse at this year’s Roland Garros just yet but if the last three weeks are any indication of this kid’s future it looks like he could have a very bright one on tour. The French Open experience should be added motivation for Tiafoe to work harder. With this past month’s performance Tiafoe has solidified his candidacy for next big American star.
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