Frances Tiafoe reveals a Roger Federer comment he made following his Laver Cup win over Daniil Medvedev was his way of joking with the Swiss because they do that kind of stuff all the time.
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On Saturday, the American didn't make a good start to his opening singles match in Berlin and it looked like he was going to lose to the same opponent for the sixth time in his career. But then, the 26-year-old impressively came back from a set down to upset the fifth-ranked Russian 3-6 6-4 10-5.
Early in the first set, Tiafoe missed out on a break point before losing his serve in the fifth and ninth games. However, he was able to bounce back instantly at the start of the second set after earning his first break of the match in the first game and then holding to his serve for the remainder of the set to force a decider.
Through the opening eight points of the match tie-break, there wasn't much separating the two but then the American won the next three points to open a 7-4 lead. While Medvedev managed to win the 12th point and cut the deficit to 5-7, the world No. 16 remained unfazed and took the next three points again to complete his comeback win.
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"It was crazy, I played pretty well there in the second set (laughs). Honestly, I just started having fun, laughing with my team and really finding my rhythm. The court is obviously much slower to what Im used to playing on, so it was tough to play Danill on this court, but, mid-way through the second set and in the tie-break, I felt like I was Roger Federer, honestly," Tiafoe said on the court as Federer was watching from his VIP seat.
Tiafoe asked about the Federer comment
Although the former 20-time Grand Slam champion is retired and didn't play in Berlin this week, he co-founded the Laver Cup and he is a regular at his own event. And since it features 12 players every year, the 43-year-old gets a chance to hang out with some of his past rivals and have some good times.
"No, that was a joke, because I saw him there. He just jokes around with me all the time every time I see him. What a guy he is. So I just had to shout him out. It's his event, too, so I thought it was a nice touch. Yeah, it was a pretty good feeling, yeah," the American explained in his presser when asked about the viral moment.
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In the same presser, Tiafoe also explained that he believes with Federer retired and Rafael Nadal appearing to be done with pro tennis, there is an opening for him and fellow male American tennis players to make a real Grand Slam breakthrough. When making his point, the 26-year-old funnily acknowledged Novak Djokovic's dominance.
It should be mentioned that no American ATP player has won a Major since Andy Roddick did it at the 2003 US Open.
"There is a core of us, and Reilly is coming back. Me, Reilly, Tommy, Fritz, I mean, we have been going at it, since, I mean, 11, 12, doing little camps and kind of always pushing each other, always good blood. We were really, really close. Everybody has a different path, but for those core guys, I think we set a precedent that it is possible, because we kind of still played when Roger and Rafa were still elite, and Novak. Well, Novak is going to be elite until he's 70, but I think that was the biggest reason," Tiafoe said.
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Do you remember that Tiafoe was the last player to beat Federer?
After Rafael Nadal accepted the Swiss' invitation to play doubles together at the 2022 Laver Cup, the former world No. 1 and the Spaniard took on Tiafoe and Jack Sock in London. But it didn't go as the majority wanted it to go after the American duo claimed a 4-6 7-6 (2) 11-9 win in Federer's last match.
Later, the Americans even received some criticism for beating Fedal. But the 26-year-old - who lost to the Swiss three times in singles - didn't think he did anything wrong.
Im not going to apologize to him. Hes got a lot to apologize for the last 24 years after beating everybody on the tour. I will say thank you for having me in this amazing event, what hes done for the game. Hes a class act. Happy to know him, happy to call him a friend, happy to call him a colleague, and best wishes in his second act. But I will not apologize," Tiafoe sad at the time.
