Legendary American tennis player Serena Williams has achieved many things in her career, both on and off the court. Despite all that, she arguably remains pretty humble and grounded. And 24-year-old American tennis player Frances Tiafoe recently talked about her, as he feels sad about her upcoming retirement.

In a recent press conference at the US Open, Tiafoe talked about many stories about Williams as he recollected some of the memories he had earlier in his career.

Frances Tiafoe talks about the GOAT Serena Williams

In the interview, Tiafoe revealed that he watched Serena Williams’ performance late in the night. Apart from that, he talked about his relationship with Williams over the years, as he said, “I played Hopman Cup with her. Spent that time with her. I mean, then after that just how genuine she is. Giving me two cents all the time. How normal she is at the same time. Hanging out with her all week, doing dinners with her, stuff like that, seeing her crack jokes, so normal.“

Read More: Serena Williams’ US Open Win Makes It to a Freak 21-Year Coincidence Involving ‘The Machine’ Albert Pujols 

“Seeing someone who is a Mount Rushmore person like her, seeing the normality in her was crazy… Just a true leader. Being able to share the court with her, being able to practice with her in the off-season. She’s like, ‘Aren’t you coming over to the house?’ We have lunch. She’s really taken me in. She just wants to see me do well,” he further said. 

Notably, Tiafoe was practicing with Williams earlier this year during her return to tennis at Eastbourne International. Speaking about it he said, “I seen her in Eastbourne. We had an hour conversation after practice on the court, telling me all kinds of stuff. It’s sad. It’s sad to see her go. I love how she’s saying she’s evolving and not retiring.” 

Notably, Frances Tiafoe and Serena Williams played at the Hopman Cup in Perth in 2019, representing Team USA. In that tournament, both of them played quite well and showed great bonding, especially during their mixed doubles matches. Later, Tiafoe talked about getting nervous playing with Williams, as he had so much respect for his fellow American. Apart from that, they interacted with each other multiple times and Tiafoe feels grateful for that.

The night when Serena played against Roger Federer

The 2019 Hopman Cup garnered plenty of attention as both Roger Federer and Serena Williams took part in that tournament. So, fans were anticipating a face-off between those two at one stage of the tournament.

Watch This Story: When Serena Williams defended her raging outburst at the US Open

Earlier, both Federer and Williams won their respective singles matches against Tiafoe and Belinda Bencic, respectfully. So, fans were looking forward to a showdown in the mixed doubles event. In that match, Federer paired up with Bencic and Williams teamed up with Tiafoe.

Although the Swiss team won the match 4-2, 4-3, the match lived up to the hype as the fans and the players enjoyed the match thoroughly. Afterward, Federer talked about Williams and her serve, which according to him was one of the best serves in the women’s game. Moreover, Williams also praised the Swiss player as the GOAT.

Meanwhile, Serena Williams defeated Anett Kontaveit to reach the third round of the US Open, notably, this will be her last tournament, as she already announced her retirement.