On paper, fifth seed and World No. 6 Kevin Anderson should have won, sort of. Ranked higher, more experienced, and holding a 3-0 record against Frances Tiafoe, the 2nd round match looked to be Anderson’s to win. But, not by much. Turning 21 years old in a few days and ranked 39 in the world Tiafoe was not the bettor’s pick, that is why they play the matches. In possibly his biggest win of his career, the 20 year old Tiafoe knocked Anderson out of the tournament 4-6 6-4 6-4 7-5.
Anderson starts quickly
Cruising along is too strong of a term, but Kevin Anderson outplayed Frances Tiafoe early on. After taking the first set 6-4, Anderson kept going by holding in the first game of the second set. The South African then reeled eight of nine points to secure a break, a hold and a 3-0 lead. Anderson looked to be on his way. Then, not.
The Tide Turned
As can happen in tennis, a uptick in level of play and the match turned, quickly. Tiafoe ran off 12 of 16 points to knot the set 3-3. After trading holds, in the critical 4-4 game, Anderson struggled to land first serves and Tiafoe pounced. Converting his fourth break point of the critical ninth game of the set, Tiafoe took control of the set, and the match.
Tiafoe served out the first set to knot the match. In close third and fourth sets, Tiafoe continued to prevail. Breaks of serve were tough to come by, but Tiafoe captured what he needed. With the third set at 1-1, Tiafoe grabbed the only break of the set, going on to win 6-4.
Finally, a Break
The deciding fourth set was dominated by the server. In the first ten games there was only one break point, Anderson survived it and the set reached 5-5. In the critical 11th game, Tiafoe finally broke through to gain at 6-5 lead and opportunity to serve out the match. He took it. Despite finally facing two break points, Tiafoe held for the match, 7-5. In possibly his biggest win of his career, Tiafoe knocked out the world number 6 and advanced to the third round of a major for only the second time. Not bad for a youngster; Tiafoe will turn 21 later this week.
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