Back to the drawing board for disappointed Tiafoe

NEW YORK: Frances Tiafoe exited Arthur Ashe Stadium following his four-set defeat to fellow American Ben Shelton, and he will not return on Sunday. The 28-year-old Washington native suffered his third semi-final exit in five years, marking a disappointing end to his US Open campaign. Tiafoe expressed optimism about his future, stating, "You never want to be too confident you can get back to it, but I feel pretty confident I can get back to it, for sure."

He attributed his recent positive attitude to overcoming a wrist injury, adding, "I m just happy with how I ve been doing and how I ve been showing up every week." Despite the loss, Tiafoe reflected on his improved mindset compared to his third-round exit last year, saying, "I was doing my interview here last year, and it was really, really bad how I felt where I was at."

Tiafoe claimed victory in the ATP grass court title in Halle this year and reached the final of the Cincinnati Masters before the Open. However, he admitted he lacked the necessary serve percentage to overcome Shelton, who served at a 82 percent rate. Tiafoe acknowledged the challenge posed by Shelton's serve, particularly for left-handed players.

He stated, "It kind of hard. Especially lefties, moving around, spins, kicks, sliders, big ones. Obviously he can get it up there when he's really juicing out." Tiafoe is determined to work on his serve as he looks to make another push for success on the sport's premier stages. Ultimately, he expressed his ambition, saying, "Ultimately I want to do the thing, man.

I want to be a Grand Slam champion one day ... just get back to the drawing board and keep working."