Frances Tiafoe on goals, progress, and tough decisions: "I just know who I am"
'Big Foe' is showing he has a game to match his nickname. In a chat with Olympics.com, the world No. 17 talks ATP Finals, being part of an American rise in men's tennis and the one-and-only John McEnroe.
Tennis
The “Big Foe” is close to the big time. Frances Tiafoe can smell it.
“Just to be back in that mode again and playing like that again, it definitely gives me confidence that I can play at the highest level,” Tiafoe told Olympics.com in Tokyo at the Japan Open tennis, looking back on his successful summer run that included a second trip to the US Open semi-finals on home soil.
“I mean right now, I just know who I am and know where I'm at mentally so now it's just being able to go week in, week out.”
Frances Tiafoe is swinging his way up men's tennis.
Frances Tiafoe: I want to 'inspire people'
Tiafoe is currently ranked 17th in the world. At the time of writing, he's competing in the Shanghai Masters, one of two Masters tournaments left on the calendar along with 28 October to 3 November in Paris, before the season-ending ATP Finals in Turin, Italy.
The American is 14th in the race for the eight-man event in Turin. While some might consider him an outsider for what would be his first Finals appearance, he likes his chances.
Not to mention being fired up for it.
“Hell yeah! I’ve never really had the chance to be this close. I'm 14 in the race and I'm like, why not? You see how things shake up, see how guy's bodies feel, one tournament at a time.
“I’m playing every game and I’m definitely going for it. That would be the icing on the cake. If I made Turin, that would be pretty dope.”
While Tiafoe hopes to be in Turin the week of 10-17 November, he has his sights set far beyond that.
“I want to be on top of the game. I want to win majors, I want to be in the top three, top five and at that point, why not No. 1?
“But my real goal is to win a major. Let the rankings fall where they may but I want to be on the top of the game for a while and be in a position where I'm competing for Slams and Masters Series for the next five or six years for sure.
“I’m 27 on top of the year. That's kind of my goal but ultimately, to use my success to inspire people to do something special in their life.”
Tiafoe appeared at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 but he opted not to play for Team USA at Paris 2024, citing the surface and schedule among reasons. Skipping the Games has also allowed him to stay relatively fresh for the stretch run of the year while those who went, like Carlos Alcaraz and Novak Djokovic, appeared to hit a wall afterwards.
Tiafoe stands by his decision to pass on Paris but did admit he missed donning the red, white, and blue alongside America’s Olympic greats like LeBron James, Kevin Durant, and Sha’carri Richardson.
“Like I'm [watching] in Atlanta, I'm seeing them on the boat, bro. You got Bron, KD - I mean these are my guys. KD and Steph (Curry) I know really well, Bron obviously tweeted at me a couple of times. It would have been cool to hang out with those guys.
“A’ja Wilson, all the runners man - Sha’Carri to Gabby Thomas and everybody. We have so many amazing Olympic athletes. It sucked to not be there, but to see how I ended the summer myself, I think I made the right decision.”
Tiafoe and Taylor Fritz are hoping to paint an American renaissance.
Frances Tiafoe: 'Americans right now are the best'
Tiafoe is one of five American men in the top 20 with Taylor Fritz (7), Tommy Paul (13), Ben Shelton (16), and Sebastian Korda (19), signalling a potential wave of American success after years of coming close.
When Tiafoe and his good friend Fritz clashed in the last four of the US Open, it was the first All-American men’s singles Grand Slam semi-final to be held in 19 years. No US male has won a Grand Slam title since Andy Roddick in 2003.
Tiafoe believes the time is ripe for US tennis to start going on a run, going as far as to say American players are the cream of the crop at the moment.
“American tennis is in a great place man,” the 26-year-old said. “Taylor made final of the US Open, I've made the semis, Ben’s made semis of Slams, Tommy’s made semis of Slams.
“We're all in the top 20 in the world, Korda’s in there as well. Taylor's in the top 10. I think a lot more of us are going to be in there in and out, and we'll see how that works. But I think Americans right now are the best players in the world.”
Following the US Open and before beginning his Asian swing on the tour, Tiafoe starred for Team World at the Laver Cup in Berlin, where he was reunited with captain John McEnroe, who gave him his first call-up.
Seven-time major winner McEnroe is standing down as skipper after seven years and will pass the baton to Andre Agassi. Tiafoe describes his relationship with the 65-year-old McEnroe as special.
“That's my guy man,” he said. “You don't understand, me and him are really, really close. That's a guy who I definitely have a lot of time for.
"Some of my lowest moments, that guy would hit me up checking on me and always want the best for me... He'll always get in my ass, rip me and stuff. He's one of the realest dudes I probably know - especially from all the OGs. Of American OGs, he’s probably my favourite.”
Asked what the funniest thing McEnroe ever said to him was, Tiafoe replied with a chuckle:
“Probably when he said 'f* these guys' when we were playing Rafa and Federer. That was pretty funny. And all the other stuff is between him and me.”
Tiafoe on John McEnroe: "One of the realest dudes I know"