Last season, Frances Tiafoe returned to the semi-finals of the US Open, where he faced compatriot Taylor Fritz for a place in the championship match.
Tiafoe had made the final four at Flushing Meadows in 2022, before losing to eventual champion Carlos Alcaraz in a five-set thriller.
After a quarter-final finish the following year, the American once again found himself one win away from a maiden Grand Slam final at Arthur Ashe Stadium.
He was up two sets to one against Fritz heading into the fourth set, but by his own admission, made a big mistake when trying to close out the match.
What Frances Tiafoe thought to himself during the 2024 US Open semi-final
In his post-match press conference, when asked at what point he thought he was going to be in the final, Tiafoe replied: “Early days in the fourth.
“I mean, I got good looks, returning well, holding easy early in the fourth. Here we go, two sets to one up, changing.
“Oh, s—, come out strong, let’s get this fourth done, gonna be in the final. That’s normal thinking, for sure.
“But in the past matches before, I was only thinking about what it takes to win rather than thinking about what’s potentially ahead. That could play a part in it, too.
“I mean, the year I’ve had and to be almost in that position, I think I just got ahead of myself. This stinks a bit. Not a bit. This stinks a lot, but I’m gonna learn from it and I will be better going forward, for sure.”
Frances Tiafoe’s route to the 2024 US Open semi-final
Tiafoe kicked off his US Open campaign in 2024 with a win over Aleksandar Kovacevic and a walkover in his second-round match with Alexander Shevchenko.
In round three, he came up against 2023 semi-finalist Ben Shelton and emerged victorious against his countryman in five sets.
| Round | Opponent |
|---|---|
| Semi-Finals | Taylor Fritz (L) |
| Quarter-Finals | Grigor Dimitrov (W) (Walkover) |
| Fourth Round | Alexei Popyrin (W) |
| Third Round | Ben Shelton (W) |
| Second Round | Alexander Shevchenko (W) (Walkover) |
| First Round | Aleksandar Kovacevic (W) |
After defeating 28th seed Alexei Popyrin, Tiafoe faced Grigor Dimitrov in the quarter-finals.
Much like his Wimbledon heartbreak against Jannik Sinner this year, the Bulgarian was forced to retire in the fourth set due to injury.
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