Frances Tiafoe cannot catch a break at the moment, and if it is not losing narrowly to opponents he should be beating, it’s sustaining injuries which prevent him from even competing for wins.
His 2024 has seen him plummet down the world rankings, and the 2022 US Open semi-finalist seems to have lost all the allure, explosivity and passion which helped him soar to tenth in the world.
Now sitting at a miserable 28th, the American desperately needs to find a solution to his faltering form.
However, seeking to do so a The Queen’s Club, he was dealt a further blow that just sums up his year so far.
John Isner takes aim at Queen’s courts
Facing Australian Rinky Hijikata in the first round of the West Kensington competition, it seemed destined to be yet another long day at the office for the 26-year-old as he lost the first set 7-5.
However, fighting back admirably, he would win the second 6-4, sending the match to a decider.
Regardless of what was to come, he had at the very least given a good account of himself, but taking a tumble early in the third thwarted his chances of continuing his comeback.
Trying to play on after the nasty slip which seemed to strain his hip, he soon admitted defeat, and had to retire from the match, thus conceding to Hijikata.
John Isner has since taken to X to defend his compatriot whilst lambasting the courts at Queen’s, which he thinks are notoriously poor in one area.
He wrote: ‘Queens is undoubtedly one of the best events of year, but the courts are diabolically slippery, especially on Monday and Tuesday. Just ask DelPo. Sucks for Frances, hope he can recover for SW19.’
Frances Tiafoe just cannot catch a break at the moment
As briefly referenced earlier, Tiafoe just cannot catch a break in 2024.
This marked his 14th ATP-level event of the season, and although the manner of the loss is somewhat unfair, it still goes down as such. Therefore, this was his fourth first-round exit of the campaign, and has won just 13 matches all year.
Even dropping down into a Challenger event in Cagliari, Tiafoe once again got dumped out in the first round as if to compound his misery.
Not to mention that he put up a rather tame title defence at Stuttgart, the tournament that Ben Shelton had hoped Tiafoe would win this year.
With Wimbledon, the Olympics and then his coveted US Open to come, there are fears now over his fitness as well as his form. Something has got to give eventually, but for now, his ranking is dropping like a stone.
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