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Frances Tiafoe created history by becoming the first black man to reach the US Open semifinals since Arthur Ashe in 1972.
The American, whose father once worked as a laborer at the construction site of the Junior Tennis Champions Center in Maryland, defeated ninth-seed Andrey Rublev 7-6(3), 7-6(0), 6-4 in the quarterfinals on Wednesday.
Tiafoe, the son of immigrants from Sierra Leone, stated in his post-match press conference that creating a "Cinderella story" that everyone loves is what he is trying to achieve thanks to the support of his fans.
"Yeah, that's love, man. I really appreciate that. You know, that stuff gets me emotional, for sure. Seeing people like screaming your name, just loving what you're doing. That's awesome. That's what it's all about. You know, everyone loves a Cinderella story. [I'm] just trying to make one," he said.
Tiafoe, who had set the alarm bells ringing when he became the first man to defeat Rafael Nadal in a Grand Slam this year, outplayed the ninth-seeded Rublev much to the delight of the home crowd at the Arthur Ashe Stadium.
The American fired 18 aces during the course of the encounter against Rublev en route to a memorable win that now puts him within striking distance of becoming the first player from his country to win the US Open since Andy Roddick in 2003.
He will first need to beat either Carlos Alcaraz or Jannik Sinner to extend his fairytale run into the semifinals on Saturday.
"I started really falling in love with the process" - Frances Tiafoe on how he has matured as a player
When asked how he has matured as a player to become a "finisher," Tiafoe revealed that he got complacent in 2019 after an exciting start and took a long time to get his act together. He commended his team for helping him come through.
"I mean, it just kind of just went through life. You go through different stages of your life. When I came on the scene, flying up the rankings, everything was kind of good. I got a bit complacent, 2019. Took me a long time kind of just get myself together. Obviously with the COVID rankings, stuff like that, people not losing points, that took a while as well. Just in general, I just got a good team around me. I started really falling in love with the process, just trying to get better," he stated.
He disclosed that not being in the limelight helped him flourish as a player.
"I think during that time the cameras weren't on me, attention wasn't on me. I was able to just kind of get better and do my own thing. I stopped trying to be the guy. Like when things were going to happen, it was going to happen. I was fine with it. I was comfortable with myself. Yeah, now, it's all come into fruition," he said.
Also Checkout:- US Open 2022 Results
