Frances Tiafoe calls Poland captain Agnieszka Radwanska 'a legend', has nothing but respect for the former World No. 2
Frances Tiafoe paid his respects to former World No. 2 and Team Poland captain Agnieszka Radwanska following his win over Kacper Zuk 6-3, 6-3 on Friday (January 6).
Tiafoe was in action after Jessica Pegula's win over World No. 1 Iga Swiatek in the first match of the semi-finals, giving Team USA an advantage over the Polish. His dominant win against Zuk has put Team USA in a comfortable position, leading the tie 2-0.
After his match, the American No. 2 commented on a picture, congratulating Radwanska while calling her a legend of the game.
"@ARadwanska you’re a legend. Nothing but respect," said Tiafoe.
@TennisChannel @ARadwanska @ARadwanska you’re a legend. Nothing but respect 🤞🏿🤞🏿
In his post-match press conference, the 24-year-old mentioned that he had a 'lot of fun' in his match against Zuk and stated that he hit a lot of good shots.
"There's going to be ups and downs," he stated. "Hit some crazy shots today. Just had a lot of fun. I thought it was a great level. The other guy actually played a pretty high level. It was fun. But, yeah, I really wanted to get that win, for us to get up 2-0 and loosen up the guys for tomorrow."
Frances Tiafoe previews the Day 2 of the semi-finals against Team Poland
Frances Tiafoe revealed that he expects a tough battle between Hubert Hurkacz and Taylor Fritz tomorrow (January 7) and claimed that the serves of both players might be the defining factor in the match.
"I think Taylor and Hubi is going to be tough," said Tiafoe. "I think whoever serves better is probably going to get over the line. I'm going to back Taylor's serve tomorrow obviously. They haven't played like a proper match in a while. They're both in two different stages of their career. They're both playing the best tennis of their life. So we'll see.
"But I'm obviously going to back Taylor, always. We'll see what happens. You know, same with Maddie, I back her against anybody in the world," he claimed.
Tiafoe, who was expected to play against Daniel Michalski in his match, pointed out that he was not surprised by the switch as he knew little of his opponents.
"I didn't even know my first opponent I was supposed to play. So when they switched it, I was, like, 'All right, great, I'm in the same position I was.' It was kind of, Whatever."
"I was just going to kind of wing it and see what happens," Frances Tiafoe said. "Feel the guy out a little bit and kind of see what happens. Try to just worry about my side of the court and we'll figure it out."