Frances Tiafoe makes the Final in Cincy to save his season. Can he carry this momentum?
Due to a First Round exit in Montreal, Frances Tiafoe made the trip to Cincinnati early. He lost 6-4 6-2 to Alejandro Tabilo, in a match where the difference was close to none…until it wasn’t.
Tiafoe was serving to stay in the first set at 4-5 30-30 when TabiloxTiafoe engaged in a long rally and Tabilo missed long, but the electric line calling was “off.” The umpire got word mid rally, so he stopped play and they had to replay the point. Tiafoe got broken two points later. That point really defined the match. He competed in set 2 despite being an early break down. He retrieved it to make it 2-2 but and went on to lose 4 games straight.
Tiafoe bounced back in Cincinnati. He rattled off straight set wins against Fokina and Musetti as well as 3 set victories over Lehecka and Rune, eventually losing to Sinner in the final. That fiery backhand was on full display. It worked really well in the fast conditions as the flat backhand skid through the surface. He also had to go mental against Holger Rune. He broke Rune when he was serving for the match and played a fearless tiebreak against one of the best tiebreak players in the world.
Where has this aggression been?
I think the main thing has been his comfort level across surfaces. I root for Tiafoe, but his game doesn’t translate too different speeds as smoothly as others do. His clay season wasn’t good and his grass season was only a bit better, but he drew tough opponents.
Frances loves American soil. But theres no doubt he’s been improving since the spring and that’s always a great sign. Its hard court season, its his time. I feel like he’s had this cloud over his head since his 2023 US Open quarterfinal loss to Ben Shelton. Hes back and ready for redemption.
Tiafoe’s torpedo backhand has been the key to his success. The ball is skidding through the court so low and deep that it gives him an opportunity to move into attack mode. Big foe has such great hands and feel on the ball, his net game comes naturally. Its just about getting there. Is he willing to work through the rally and apply pressure? He did such a great job of that in his match vs Rune. He was punishing the ball crosscourt and picked up any pieces left short of the baseline. He was extremely timely when going back behind Rune and he passed a huge mental test by winning the deciding breaker.
All of that is a recipe for success. If he keeps this mojo going and uses the crowd support, he should be back to the round of 32 vs Ben Shelton. Then comes the real work!
Until next time…
-Simon
