"That QF loss to Ben Shelton felt like turning point in both careers": Tennis fans react to Frances Tiafoe's "downward spiral" after Indian Wells loss
Frances Tiafoe is set to drop out of the Top 20 of the ATP rankings following his loss to Stefanos Tsitsipas in the third round of the BNP Paribas Open.
The American suffered a 6-3, 6-3 loss to the Greek and was thus unable to defend his quarterfinal points from 2023. As a result, he will drop out of the Top 20 of the ATP rankings.
Tiafoe, who was a Top-10 player last year, has a 9-12 record since his US Open quarterfinal defeat to Ben Shelton. Several fans reacted to the American's poor run of form and subsequent dropping from the Top 20, with one saying that the US Open loss to Ben Shelton felt like a turning point in the careers of both Tiafoe and the 21-year-old.
"Tiafoe is 9-12 since the US Open ended. That QF loss to Ben Shelton definitely felt like a turning point in both of their careers," a fan wrote on X (formerly Twitter).
One fan said that Tiafoe had a "downward spiral" in 2024.
"Tiafoe out of the top 20 was a top 10 player what, 9 months ago? Insane how much of a downward dip/spiral it’s been this year particularly," a fan said.
One fan said that the American "beat himself" and said that he put on weight after stopping to train.
"Tiafoe easily beats himself. Despicable performance and you can see from the amount of weight he's put on that he's stopped training. Whether that's down to an injury, I don't know, but reminds you of someone," the fan's comment read.
Here are some more reactions from fans:
While Frances Tiafoe fails to make last 16 in Indian Wells, Ben Shelton advances
Even as Frances Tiafoe bowed out of the BNP Paribas Open at Indian Wells, his younger compatriot Ben Shelton has advanced to the fourth round of the tournament. Shelton beat Francisco Cerundolo of Argentina in three sets at the third round at Indian Wells.
Here, he will be up against third seed and Australian Open champion Jannik Sinner, who is yet to lose a match in 2024.
As for Frances Tiafoe, the Miami Open is scheduled to be his next tournament. The 26-year-old reached the third round of the Masters 1000 event last year and his best-ever performance there is reaching the quarterfinals in 2019.