By Amy Tennery
NEW YORK, Sept 8 (Reuters) – Frances Tiafoe has higher hopes for himself in his latest U.S. Open run, after a nerve-testing five-set comeback on Tuesday to reach the semi-final for a third time and underscore his mettle at the year’s final major.
The 11th seed has provided treasured memories for the home fans in New York, from his dragon-slaying defeat of Rafa Nadal en route to the 2022 semi-final, to his blockbuster win over compatriot Ben Shelton two years ago.
But the Cincinnati runner-up this year is ready to write a new chapter this time around, after a roller-coaster comeback performance against Alex Michelsen over five sets.
“I’m just a different person in general. Those two runs (to the semi-finals) were great, something I will cherish forever, but I’m not that person who I was when I made one in 2022 and when I made one in ’24. I’m not that person. I’m excited to see what this me does,” said Tiafoe, who plays either Shelton or defending champion Carlos Alcaraz next.
“I have higher hopes for myself. So yeah, it’s great. The tournament is still going. There’s a lot more tennis to be played, a lot more sets to be played, and a lot more physical things to be done. We’re going to enjoy this, but we got to keep going.”
Tiafoe advances with the ever-present American men’s major drought looming over him, with U.S. fans having seen their hopes lifted — and then dashed — many times over the 23 years since Andy Roddick last lifted the trophy in New York.
“I mean, the women’s side, they’ve been killing it for so long. It’s not something new,” said Tiafoe, giving a wide smile as he rattled off a list of achievements from his female counterparts.
“But the guys, we’ve been doing pretty well. Someone is always going deep in majors… I mean, hopefully we can do the thing, and that’s ultimately try to do the thing after two weeks. That’s like the next big step.”
(Reporting by Amy Tennery in New York; Editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman)
