“I wish I could’ve given you guys a better final today,” a disappointed Frances Tiafoe had said months ago after falling to Jenson Brooksby in the ATP Houston final. Well, that loss marked the start of a rocky clay court journey, with the Maryland native struggling to push past the R16 since. But now, with renewed fire and focus, Big Foe has fought his way into the 3rd round at Roland Garros. And he’s not alone! His fellow Americans are making noise, too! So, what’s the energy like behind the scenes? For us, Big Foe has the scoop on the electrifying buzz in the locker room!

In a post-match press conference at the French Open yesterday, Frances Tiafoe fielded questions about the locker room’s atmosphere in light of the recent American victories on the Parisian clay courts. He reflected on the growing confidence among his compatriots. “I mean, guys are confident anywhere you know. Obviously, we didn’t have the best results. I mean, for me, I don’t want Max on Clay ever. But again, as I told these three or you know, Howard’s not here but early in the week, it’s you know, like if you’re ready to play and mind’s there, and I mean a game’s open, anything can happen,” he said, acknowledging the mindset shift that’s fueling this run in France.

Tiafoe also praised Tommy Paul and Ben Shelton for stepping up when it mattered most for the Americans at clay. “I mean, Tommy’s had some incredible efforts, man. He’s got some niggles, and he’s battling. Ben pulled out a great first round on Sunday and then he got lucky reward there getting a def and then draw opened up and he had a good look at it today. So, guys are just hungry, man, and just believe it. So that’s kind of all it is,” Tiafoe said, applauding their grit and opportunism until the third round.

Beyond the matches, the former US Open semifinalist noted the emotional and motivational impact of seeing his fellow Americans succeed. “When you’re going deep and you see fellow guys, you grew up with, especially you know Ben’s a lot younger than us, but you know seeing Tommy, you know going around 16, you know we I remember playing like 12 clay courts with the guy like now we’re in around 16,” he shared, illustrating how these shared milestones fuel belief and community pride.

For the unversed, Frances Tiafoe‘s commanding 7-6(6), 6-3, 6-4 victory over fellow American Sebastian Korda propelled him into the French Open fourth round, creating history alongside 22-year-old Ben Shelton and Tommy Paul.

It’s the 1st time since 1995 that 3 American men have reached the fourth round at Roland Garros. On Friday, Shelton secured his place with a straight-sets victory over 167th seed Matteo Gigante, while 12th seed Tommy Paul had already punched his ticket and is set to face Alexei Popyrin on Sunday.

With the American men making waves on the Parisian clay, Ethan Quinn still has a shot when he plays Tallon Griekspoor on Saturday. 

And with that, he did not stop there as Big Foe later also revealed the emotional weight he had been carrying during a string of tough losses!

Frances Tiafoe sparks American hope at Roland Garros

Since debuting at the French Open in 2018, Frances Tiafoe had only reached the 3rd round once, in 2023, where he fell to German ace Alexander Zverev. But this year, something has shifted. His run on the Parisian clay is turning heads, and after years of inconsistency on the surface, Tiafoe has finally revealed what sparked his turnaround!

In the same press conference, he opened up about the mental and technical shift behind his new form. “I always believe in myself,” he said. “It’s a matter I didn’t mean to not believe in yourself, but believe that you had your game was close. Yeah, for me it’s all about applying, like if I apply myself, then you know I can you know. Am I shocked at what I’m doing? No, like is am I happy about it? Yeah, because I know what I’m capable of, I know what I can do.”

And what about the key moment that came around to force a breakthrough? “I mean to be honest with you, I snapped the racket in like the probably on Friday. I played on Sunday in practice, and I absolutely lost it. I think and that was critical for me. That was huge. And then I played horrendous in a practice set. Got absolutely killed and then put another practice set that same day, like right after that, after I broke a racket and everything down three-0 find a way to win the set. That was critical for me,” Frances later echoed.

Now, Tiafoe prepares to face Germany’s Daniel Altmaier in the 4th round, with a 2–0 lead in their H2H. With his confidence rising and momentum on his side, Big Foe might just be on the verge of his deepest run yet at Roland Garros!