U.S. Men's Report: Frances Tiafoe “plays the best tennis of the year” in Flushing, Queens

NEW YORK—Frances Tiafoe has never hoisted the singles champion’s hardware at the US Open, and he’s seeded a modest No. 17 this year. But for a multitude of American fans, the 27-year-old Maryland native has emerged as the de facto face of the U.S. Grand Slam—the beloved perennial contender with boundless enthusiasm and a grin as wide as the Unisphere that sits just outside of the National Tennis Center.

“You know, Frances plays the best tennis of the year here,” his pal Ben Shelton said after his own win on Sunday.

Seeded No. 6 and playing like a house on fire lately, Shelton added: “I like to think that I do, as well. Obviously I ran into him in the third round last year [and lost, in five sets], but it’s still one of my favorite matches of the year when I go back and watch it. That was one of the highest levels that I played all year.”

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On Monday, Tiafoe led a fleet of 11 U.S. men—from the 23 who were in the draw—into their first-round matches in the final major of the year. Four of them—Tiafoe, Martin Damm Jr., Jenson Brooksby and Tristan Boyer—joined the winners from Monday to advance, while Sebastian Korda had to retire due to injury and Darwin Blanch lost to his compatriot, Damm.

In Arthur Ashe Stadium, Tiafoe dispatched Yoshihito Nishioka in three sets that were closer than the 6-3, 7-6 (6), 6-3 suggests. Tiafoe wears his heart on his sleeve when it comes to this event, and he totally skipped over the usual precis of the match in his on-court interview. “It’s always great to play on this court,” he announced and, choosing booster over beast mode, added, “It’s unbelievable to be back another year at the amazing US Open, the best tournament in the world.”

Nishioka is a crafty Japanese left-hander, but he’s now won just one match in his last 13 tournaments. He struggled with his confidence throughout the match, frequently succumbing to visible frustration—often for no good reason, as he was right in the thick of it with Tiafoe for a good portion of the contest. Nishioka’s inner battle, illustrated with facial expressions and lavish gestures of irritation, culminated with a doozy of a racquet demolition. That occurred when he lost the critical second set tiebreaker, earning him a code violation and fine.

That tiebreaker was the determining event in the match, and the way it played out illustrated the main concern even sympathetic pundits have with Tiafoe. He routinely plays electric, nearly magical tennis, but it often goes hand-in-hand with puzzling brownouts of his focus. To borrow the Australian phrase, “He goes walkabout.”

Thus, Tiafoe’s level dropped after he played a tight, clean first set. In the second, he lapsed into a game of cat-and-mouse with Nishioka. He surrendered an early break only to break right back. He failed to capitalize on three break points in the seventh game, and the set advanced on serve to the tiebreaker. Tiafoe bolted to a 3-0 lead, whereupon he promptly made three quick errors to allow Nishioka to draw even. The next eight points were all mini-breaks (could that be a record?), until Tiafoe cracked a quality forehand that forced a volley error that ended the tiebreaker, 8-6.

On his behalf, you could say that Tiafoe never really felt threatened by Nishioka, and managed to raise his game to the required level at the times he most needed to. But he never went after Nishioka with clear intent, not even when he had his opponent on the emotional ropes in the third set. At that stage, ESPN and Tennis Channel analyst Jimmy Arias remarked on the way Tiafoe let Nishioka off the hook when he looked most vulnerable: “He (Tiafoe) can get away with this now, but he won’t be able to do that against guys like (defending champion) Jannik Sinner.”

That may be, but credit Tiafoe for bringing a great attitude to the task that may await him should he keep making his way toward Sinner. Asked the other day how daunting it was to contemplate having to go through a Sinner or Carlos Alcaraz to win the title, he answered:

“It is what it is. I don't really know the answer to that. There's always been guys, quote unquote, they are the gatekeepers of the tour. But ultimately, if you want to win [a big] one, you got to beat those guys.”

We can't be out there just putting them on a pedestal. We gotta beat them, like, if you want to do anything special. Frances Tiafoe

He said he hoped to draw on his history of success at the Open, adding, “I mean, a lot of highs here, man. Obviously some tough endings, for sure. A ton of highs. I think the journey is just kind of the same every time.”

Those comments are forged from a rare combination of realism and aspirations that some might pooh-pooh. But they seem reasonable, given Tiafoe’s record in New York, buttressed with the comfort and inspiration he annually takes from just being around this tournament. It’s almost as if the event is the embodiment of something grander for Tiafoe, his version of that proverbial shining city on the hill.

For many of Tiafoe’s compatriots, the tournament must loom more like some mysterious fortress, the first two rounds serving as the moat. But at least two of the U.S. men have reason to feel better about their prospects than they might have yesterday. Wild card Tristan Boyer, a 6'4", 24-year-old from wildfire-ravaged Altadena, Calif., dismissed a lucky loser, James Duckworth in three tidy sets. Jenson Brooksby, ranked No. 92, crafted a quality win over another Australian, No. 95-ranked Aleksander Vukic. Brooksby prevailed in a bitter battle, 6-4 in the fifth set. And on a sad note, injury-plagued Sebastian Korda was forced to retire with back pain after losing the first two sets to Great Britain’s Cam Norrie.

It takes a lot more than an outstanding record to become the face of a tournament. Tiafoe appears to have pulled off the trick with his inspirational backstory, an eccentric but often dazzling game, and a super-sized helping of charisma. But his road to the US Open title most likely goes through one or more, perhaps even all, of the following players: Novak Djokovic, fellow American Taylor Fritz, Carlos Alcaraz and top dog Jannik Sinner.

Walkabouts will probably be dealt with severely.