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Frances Tiafoe has opened up on his Grand Slam ambitions, especially at the US Open, after beating Cameron Norrie to reach the Indian Wells semifinals.
Continuing his sublime campaign in the Californian desert, Tiafoe racked up his fourth straight straight-sets win to reach his first Masters 1000 final on Wednesday (March 15).
Following a belated start due to rain, the World No. 16 was dialed in against Norrie. He combined his lethal power with precision movement to down the reigning Rio de Janeiro champion.
The win - following victories over Marcos Giron, Jason Kubler and Alejandro Tabilo this week - improved Tiafoe's season record to 14-3. It was also his first win over Norrie in two attempts, evening up the pair's head-to-head rivalry.
The American, thus, broke new ground to enter unchartered territory at the Masters 1000 tournament.
Tiafoe said at his press conference about his top goal - winning a Grand Slam, preferably at the US Open - which will enable him to sleep well at night:
"Win a Grand Slam. Be No. 1 in the world, great, but if I can walk away from the game, I won a slam, I will sleep totally well at night. No one's gonna tell me s***. I'm gonna be, 'Oh, I'm a Grand Slam champion.' I will be pumped, preferably US Open."
He continued that his immediate goal is to win at Indian Wells, but winning a Major remains his primary objective:
"Yeah, that's to go. And I'm in semis at Indian Wells, so why not try to win Indian Wells first? Yeah, I mean, I think that's the one thing I want to actually, to win a Grand Slam."
Frances Tiafoe will take on Daniil Medvedev for a place in the Indian Wells final.
"For the most part, I thought it was one-way traffic" - Frances Tiafoe on his win over Cameron Norrie
Frances Tiafoe was thrilled with his gameplan against Cameron Norrie, which paid rich dividends. Providing a sneak peek of his aggressive tactics, the American said:
"I'm using my speed a lot more to be aggressive, not just to react to balls and out the corners and stuff. I'm doing that much better now. Using my speed to be aggressive, coming forward much more, sticking volleys, and just being athletic out there."
He continued:
"He didn't have any response for me today. Cam's going to be Cam and make it tough for me at the end. I blinked a little there at the end, but for the most part I thought it was one-way traffic."
Tiafoe is winless in four matches against Medvedev, a streak he will hope to break this week.
