American tennis player Frances Tiafoe recently competed at the Stockholm Open 2021. Sadly, he lost the semifinals to fellow American player Tommy Paul. He crashed out in three close sets, ending his hopes of a title before the season ends. 

However, Tiafoe made an amusing gesture in the match. During the second set, the winner had to be decided in a tiebreaker. Tiafoe showed his opponent the middle finger when he was unable to return back the drop shot. But it was all done in good humor. 

Both players are good friends and have played doubles as a team. They have played against each other twice during this season; both those meetings were won by Tiafoe. 

Frances Tiafoe took control of things early on 

Reflecting on the match, Tiafoe started out brilliantly. He maintained his composure and took control of the set by handing his opponent the late break. Eventually, he served it out to claim the set 7-5. 

Soon after, Paul regained his stability and found himself a place in the match. He took the set into a tiebreaker and left it late; he won the tiebreaker by 7 points to Frances’ 5. In the third and final set, the one break was enough for him to seal the win in his favor. 

In the previous round, Tiafoe beat British tennis player Dan Evans. It was a tricky battle as the American player had to fight back from being a set down to win the next two sets. On the other hand, Paul beat three-time Grand Slam winner Andy Murray in the quarterfinal. 

After winning the semifinal, Tommy has now booked a place in the final against Canadian tennis star Denis Shapovalov. It will be interesting to see who comes out as the winner. 

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