Frances Tiafoe played great tennis at the 2024 U.S. Open and, up two sets to one Friday against fellow American Taylor Fritz, looked to become the first American man to play in a grand slam final since 2009.
The match was tied at four games apiece in the fourth set, but the 26-year-old would then go on to play horribly, losing the next two games to drop the fourth set. He then lost six of the seven games in the final set in an excruciating 4-6, 7-5, 4-6, 6-4, 6-1 defeat that ended his hopes of becoming the first American man to win a grand slam since 2003.
“It’s really, really tough to swallow,” Tiafoe said after the match. “This one is going to hurt really, really bad. I mean, I thought I was the better player for sure tonight. In the fourth, I don’t know, just had some in-and-out cramps. I just felt like my body just kind of shut down on me. I don’t know. Like, probably had a lot to do with nerves. I wasn’t tired at all.”
Tiafoe struggled to find the right words, but concluded he felt fine physically.
“It could be a testament to how many matches I’ve played in the short time and I haven’t played that many matches all year like that,” he said. “Ultimately, yeah, I think nerves got the better of me tonight.”
Last week, Tiafoe discussed how his loss to fellow Black American Ben Shelton last year forced him to improve and he hopes this loss will do the same.
“I’m going to be able to be a little bit more poised during that time. not panic, whatever, preparation will probably even be better, you can always be fitter, you can always be stronger,” he said. “I mean, try different things, speak to my team. You know, you just kind of just learn from the situation. Not get ahead of yourself, not be, ‘Oh, I’m a set away,’ stay in those moments, which I have been, leading up to it. More try to stay in the moment.”
Fritz will attempt to break the American male grand slam drought Sept. 7 against Italian Jannik Sinner in the U.S. Open men’s final.
