Frances Tiafoe was a real life Rocky Balboa Friday night. As Rocky went up toe-to-toe against Apollo Creed, Rocky might have lost the fight but his heart and determination made him a beloved character even in defeat. That was what happened to Tiafoe as the world saw his heart and determination as he lost to Carlos Alcaraz in a five set, four-plus hour epic US Open semifinal match.
Tiafoe started strong and even beat Alcaraz in a first set tiebreaker. Then, unforced errors by Tiafoe in the second and third sets put Alcaraz in control and Tiafoe was losing the plot a little bit. But like a marathon runner, Tiafoe got his second wind and clawed back to win a fourth set tiebreaker. That didn’t last however, and in the fifth set, Alcaraz was just too much as he outlasted Tiafoe and advanced to the men’s final. Alcaraz will face Casper Ruud on Sunday where the winner will be the No. 1 ranked player in men’s tennis.
No doubt Alcaraz was the better player this night but Tiafoe had nothing to be ashamed about. Tiafoe’s journey to even compete in the semifinal shows how determined he was over the past two weeks. The No. 22 seed faced higher seeds starting in the third round and Tiafoe beat three higher seeds in a row to get to the semis. That included No. 2 seed Rafael Nadal, as Tiafoe defeated the Spanish legend in the fourth round.
Even in the semis, Tiafoe never gave up and made Alcaraz earn the win. Alcaraz is pegged to be a tennis superstar and his coming out party might very well be this weekend but Tiafoe certainly put his name into the conversation to compete for many more major titles in the future. In the same tournament as Serena Williams retired, Francis Tiafoe might be the next great American tennis player.
Many were amazed at what Tiafoe did and they showed their appreciation to the 24-year-old who will no doubt rocket up the rankings after this performance.
Man. What a run by Tiafoe. Ultimately Alcaraz was just unbeatable. Not sure I've ever seen someone cover so much court with so much power. Insane. What a match, what a tourney. #USOpen
— Casey Decker (@CaseyDeckerTV) September 10, 2022
Tiafoe is a warrior. Left it all on the court. Match for the ages. Somewhere up there Arthur Ashe is smiling. #USOpen #tiafoe
— LaToya Morgan (@MorganicInk) September 10, 2022
About Phillip Bupp
Producer/editor of the Awful Announcing Podcast and Short and to the Point. News editor for The Comeback and Awful Announcing. Highlight consultant for Major League Soccer as well as a freelance writer for hire. Opinions are my own but feel free to agree with them.
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