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The last thirty days have arguably been the best of Frances Tiafoe's career. The 24-year-old beat lower-seeded players like Rafael Nadal, Diego Schwartzman, and Andrey Rublev to reach his first-ever Grand Slam semifinals in 26 attempts at the 2022 US Open. In the last four, he lost to eventual champion Carlos Alcaraz in a close five-set match.
Coming to London for the 2022 Laver Cup, the 24-year-old maintained his level and played an instrumental part in Team World winning the tournament for the first time. While being praised for winning the title, he and his teammate Jack Sock have also come under a little bit of fire for their behavior in the tournament,
In Roger Federer's last match as a professional tennis player on Friday night, he teamed up with Rafael Nadal against the two Americans. During the match, Tiafoe blasted two forehands at both his opponents one by one. While the ball hit Federer in the arm, the Spaniard fell to the ground to save himself. Tiafoe also made 'Greek Yogurt' references to Stefanos Tsitsipas, whom he beat on Sunday to help his team emerge victorious.
The tennis world found itself divided, with some defending the pair's actions, calling it "a part of the game," while others questioned why American fans were always accepting of poor sportsmanship.
"Why are Americans so accepting of poor sportsmanship? Why are the on-court antics of people like McEnroe, Kyrgios, Williams accepted, even celebrated? It seems to be a uniquely American thing to find bad behavior and rudeness somehow ok," a fan wrote.
"Most Americans don't approve of bad behavior on the court. Also, Nick Kyrgios is not American. Neither are Benoit Paire, Bublik and several other players who have tanked or thrown fits on the court. If you're going back to McEnroe's era, it would be difficult to ever top Ilie Nastase's behavior on and off the court," a user said.
Here are some more fan reaction reactions:
"I'm not going to apologize" - Frances Tiafoe on defeating Roger Federer in his last-match before retirement
In a press conference after winning the 2022 Laver Cup, Frances Tiafoe was asked if he apologized to Roger Federer after beating him in his last match. The American was quick to refuse, but also stated that he would like to thank the Swiss star for everything that he did for tennis.
"Absolutely not. I want to see him lit, but I'm not going to apologize to him. He's got a lot to apologize after the last 24 years of beating everybody on the tour. I will say thank you for having me in this amazing event, also say thank you for what he did for the game. He's a class act. Happy to know him, happy to call him friend, happy to call him a colleague, and best wishes in his second act. But I will not apologize," Frances Tiafoe said.
