Frances Tiafoe's girlfriend Ayan Broomfield takes note of American's 'Why not me?' shoutout after reaching biggest final of career at Cincinnati Open
Frances Tiafoe's girlfriend, Ayan Broomfield, recently acknowledged the American's "Why not me?" camera message, which conveyed his confidence ahead of the Cincinnati Open final against Jannik Sinner. Tiafoe defeated 15th seed Holger Rune on August 18 to secure a place in the final of the Masters 1000 event.
Rune dominated Tiafoe in the first set, winning 6-4. However, the Dane struggled to maintain his momentum in the second set, eventually losing 1-6 to the American. Rune was ahead 5-2 in the third set, and it seemed he would advance to the final. However, Tiafoe came back strong, winning consecutive games and saving two match points at 4-5. The American ultimately clinched the set 7-6(7) and the match.
Following a commanding semifinal performance, Frances Tiafoe signed the camera with a message that underscored his confidence ahead of the final against World No. 1 Jannik Sinner.
"Why not me," Tiafoe wrote on the camera.
Tiafoe's girlfriend, Ayan Broomfield, later shared a picture of the message on her Instagram story.
Broomfield is a Canadian tennis player who has consistently rooted for her boyfriend during his matches. The couple has been dating since 2015 and has frequently shown support for each other on social media.
Frances Tiafoe admits being 'lucky' as net cord helps save match point in Cincinnati Open SF
In his on-court interview after defeating Holger Rune in the semifinal of the 2024 Cincinnati Open, Frances Tiafoe admitted he was fortunate as the net cord helped him save one of his match points. The 26-year-old also acknowledged that, despite struggling with his serve, he played well in the third set tiebreaker.
"At 5-3 I played a really tough game, made returns. The luck goes on your side sometimes. Those net cords made a huge, huge difference. Saved one of my match points like that. But in the breaker I came up with some good shots, man," Tiafoe said.
"I played well, hit some good serves early, didn’t serve great at the end. But I battled, I battled and he got a little tight. One thing led to another and here we are," he added.
Tiafoe improved his season record to 24-18 with his semifinal victory in Cincinnati. His clash against Jannik Sinner will be his first appearance in a Masters 1000 event final.
Sinner defeated Alex Michelsen, Jordan Thompson, Andrey Rublev, and Alexander Zverev en route to the Championship match. He holds a 3-1 head-to-head advantage over Tiafoe and will look to win his fifth title of the season on August 19.