"Beating someone like Rafael Nadal definitely changed my whole mindset of how I see myself as a player & how I approach the biggest events in the world" - Frances Tiafoe
Frances Tiafoe registered arguably the biggest victory of his career by defeating Rafael Nadal in the fourth round of the US Open.
The American defeated the Spaniard 6-4, 4-6, 6-4, 6-3 to seal his place in the quarterfinals, where he defeated Andrey Rublev 7-6(3), 7-6(0), 6-4 to reach his maiden Grand Slam semifinal. Here, he lost 6-7(6), 6-3, 6-1, 6-7(5), 6-3 to eventual champion Carlos Alcaraz.
In an interview with GQ, Frances Tiafoe said that defeating Rafael Nadal changed his mindset on how he saw himself as a player and his approach toward the biggest tournaments.
"Beating someone like Rafa definitely changed my whole mindset of how I see myself as a player and how I approach the biggest events in the world," Tiafoe said. "They've been winning, winning and winning for so long, and you know, we're looking at them like they're superhuman and to beat them in the biggest stage that we have was unbelievable for me going forward you know, to believe I can really take the next step and really win these events and be one of the best players in the world consistently."
The World No. 19 added that he wasn't sure about what he told Nadal during their post-match handshake as he was "not on this planet".
"Yeah, that was a big honor. When I shook his hand, I didn't even really know what to say to him. I was kinda like mumbling and stuff. He said congrats but I didn't even know what I said to him. I was so not in this planet. Hopefully we have a couple more battles before he calls it," Tiafoe added.
Roger Federer thanked Rafael Nadal for being present in his farewell match
In a recent interview with the New York Times, Roger Federer thanked Rafael Nadal for teaming up with him in his final match despite challenging circumstances.
The Swiss said it showed the mututal respect between the two while also being a good story for the sport and beyond and added that he would "never forget" all that the Spaniard for the Swiss in London.
"It showed again how much we mean to one another and how much respect we have. And I just thought it would be just a beautiful, amazing story for us, for sports, for tennis, and maybe beyond that as well, where we can coexist in a tough rivalry and come out on top and show that, hey, again it’s just tennis," Federer said.
"Yes, it’s hard, and it’s brutal sometimes, but it’s always fair. And you can come out on the other side and still have this great, friendly rivalry. I just thought it ended up even better than I ever thought it would. So, an incredible effort by Rafa, and I’ll obviously never forget what he did for me in London," he added.