‘How Cool Would It Be to Play Wimbledon’- Frances Tiafoe Details the Positive Influence of Venus and Serena Williams on His Career

Venus and Serena Williams have been an inspiration for the new generation of tennis players and Frances Tiafoe is one of them. After his astounding victory over Rafael Nadal, Tiafoe talked about the influence of Venus and Serena Williams on his career and how they helped him achieve his dreams.

Frances Tiafoe has ignited the hope of seeing an American lifting the US Open title in the men’s circuit, something that hasn’t happened in close to two decades. The last player to lift the famed trophy in the Arthur Ashe Stadium was Andy Roddick in 2003.

Frances Tiafoe on the influence of Venus and Serena Williams

The American player defeated the Spanish tennis legend, Rafael Nadal, to advance into the quarter-finals of the US Open. Apart from the audience, his victory has taken him by surprise too.

Tiafoe talked about how, growing up, he took tennis as a way to get a full scholarship in educational institutions because his parents could not afford the tuition fees. They both were immigrants from Sierra Leone and were working overtime to build their lives in a foreign country.

He talked about seeing Venus and Serena Williams playing majors in tennis and how that affected him positively. He said, “I just, at that time watching Serena and Venus play the finals of Grand Slams at that time.” Watching them play gave him a lot of hope to be like them too. He said, “When I was super young and I was like how cool would it be to play Wimbledon, to play on Arthur Ashe and stuff like that!” 

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His passion for the game bore fruit as he recently defeated Rafael Nadal in the fourth round of the US Open. Tiafoe has won no grand slam yet, but his performance on the hard court will have surely delighted many Americans.

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Coco Gauff reached the quarter-finals of the US Open. However, she suffered a defeat at the hands of Caroline Garcia. This has crushed her dreams of bringing the title home. On the other hand, Tiafoe has done the unimaginable.

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Now, Tiafoe will harbor the dream of emulating Andy Roddick title run in 2003. However, he will face a stern test in the form of Andrey Rublev in the quarterfinal. Even if he continues his giant-killing run and makes it to the semifinals, he will have to overcome either Carlos Alcaraz or Jannik Sinner.

Do you think Tiafoe has what it takes to win the US Open?