Frances Tiafoe names the ‘iconic’ former player he would have loved to play doubles with

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Frances Tiafoe has been speaking about his dream all-time doubles partner, among other things, with Nick Kyrgios.

Appearing on the latest episode of the Australian’s podcast, the world number 20 looked back upon his career with fondness before previewing what is still yet to come.

The two shared laughs and emotional moments, in a truly enthralling episode between a couple of trailblazing tennis stars.

However, when asked about who he would have loved to have played with, Tiafoe’s answer was hardly a surprising one.

Frances Tiafoe names his dream all-time doubles partner

The 26-year-old, who has been renowned for approaching the sport in a fresh and innovative way, has never been afraid of upsetting people with his conduct.

A loud, passionate player who is just as bashful off the court as he is on it, despite his poor form ‘Big Foe’ continues to trailblaze in everything that he does.

So, it should come as no surprise that when asked to pick his dream doubles partner, he also went for someone who would tread their own path in the sport.

He noted, speaking on Kyrgios’ Good Trouble podcast: ‘Arthur Ashe would’ve been crazy. I mean that would’ve been iconic. This guy could’ve definitely been president. He was so iconic, his is a name that carries so much weight.’

Arthur Ashe left an almighty legacy

Although he retired over 40 years ago, and subsequently passed away in 1993, the legacy that this man left behind is one which will transcend many more generations after we are gone.

After all, not only was he a remarkable tennis player, but a huge advocate for those without that inspirational figure in the media.

Bursting through into a predominantly white sport, Ashe would win three Grand Slam titles, and remains the only black player ever to have won at Wimbledon, the Australian Open the US Open.

Such is his legend, the outstanding court at the latter competition, the largest tennis arena in the world, remains named in his honour.

And his heroic status is not solely tied to his work with the sport either, as the manner in which he died also worked to inspire and help those who also suffered from AIDS, a disease he was thought to have contracted during a blood transfusion in 1983.

However, in the decade he had left, he would use that time for philanthropy, setting up the Arthur Ashe Foundation for the Defeat of AIDS and the Arthur Ashe Institute for Urban Health before pneumonia delivered the final blow.

As someone who is seeking to forge his own path and leave a legacy beyond just tennis, a pairing of Tiafoe and Ashe would certainly have been an iconic one.