Frances Tiafoe makes bold claim about fellow top players in ATP Tour: "No one is light years better... even Carlos Alcaraz, Jannik Sinner"
Frances Tiafoe said that he doesn't believe any of his fellow top players on the ATP Tour, including Carlos Alcaraz, Jannik Sinner, and Daniil Medvedev, are "light years" better than the others. His comments came during the 2024 US Open.
Tiafoe is having a great run at Flushing Meadows this year. He started his campaign on the back of a runner-up finish in Cincinnati and defeated Aleksandar Kovacevic, Aleksander Shevchenko, and compatriot Ben Shelton 4-6, 7-5, 6-7(5), 6-4, 6-3 to advance to the fourth round.
After defeating Shelton, the American mentioned in a press conference that the competition on the Tour is incredibly tight, with many great talents. He used Carlos Alcaraz's recent surprise second-round loss at the US Open as an example, noting that if top players aren't at their best, they can be defeated.
"It's tough, it's tough," Frances Tiafoe said. "The margins are so tight. The depth in the game is incredible right now. So many guys playing really well. If you're not sharp you can lose. Obviously, you seen what happened to Carlos [Alcaraz] last night, just not sharp, he's going to lose. He's going to get clipped, man."
"Guys are good. No one is light years better than anybody else, even Carlos, Sinner, these guys that are winning, Medvedev, win so much. If you're not sharp and bringing your ability that we all know you can, you're probably going to lose," he added.
The 26-year-old continued by talking about how he felt during his less-than-ideal form earlier in the season:
"During that time when I'm doing that, I'm losing a lot (smiling). You know, it was definitely tough. You've got an ego that gets hurt and things like that. You don't want to play, your practices are bad. You just go down a rabbit hole. It's all part of the process, man."
"You need those moments because these ones feel really good. You know, outside of every tough moment, success is at the end of the tunnel, but a lot of people quit right before that, & I wasn’t trying to do that," he added.
Frances Tiafoe will face Novak Djokovic-conqueror Alexei Popyrin in US Open 2024 4R
Frances Tiafoe will face Australia's Alexei Popyrin in the fourth round of the 2024 US Open on August 31. The Aussie pulled off a major upset by defeating defending champion Novak Djokovic in the previous round with a score of 6-4, 6-4, 2-6, 6-4.
This will be the first meeting between Tiafoe and Popyrin on the ATP Tour, so their head-to-head stands at 0-0. Both players are competing to win their maiden Grand Slam title at Flushing Meadows.