It’s been a good nine months for Frances Tiafoe. Since reaching his first Grand Slam semifinal at the US Open in September, the 25-year-old made a finals appearance at the Japan Open, led the American squad to a United Cup victory, reached the semifinals at Indian Wells and won his first clay title at Houston.
Then he took his career to new heights over the weekend by winning the title at the Stuttgart Open. Following his hard-fought 4-6, 7-6 (1), 7-6 (8) victory over Jan-Lennard Struff in the final, Tiafoe cracked the top 10 for the first time. His reaction after the match pretty much said it all.
#BOSSOPEN CHAMPION 2023 ⚡️🏆 @FTiafoe ⁰⁰#atptour #atp #stuttgart #tennis pic.twitter.com/HTlZ2bjc87
— BOSS OPEN (@boss__open) June 18, 2023
Tiafoe later shared just how much the moment and the accomplishment meant to him.
“Super emotional for a guy like me with my story and everything,” Tiafoe said after the match. “[I am] a guy who shouldn’t even really be here doing half the things he’s doing. And now when you say his name, you can say he’s Top 10 in the world. So [that is] something that no one can take from you and I’m going to remember that forever. And hopefully, I can ride that for a long time.”
Tiafoe is now the third African-American man in history to reach the milestone ranking, joining Arthur Ashe and James Blake. With Taylor Fritz also in the top 10, this marks the first time two American men hold the distinction at the same time in over a decade.
Tiafoe also happens to be a gracious winner (and Struff an equally gracious loser). Tiafoe showered Struff with champagne on the court during the trophy presentation, and even shared the bottle with him:
Celebrating in style 🍾@FTiafoe @boss__open pic.twitter.com/NV9d0unKeh
— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) June 18, 2023
Tiafoe wasn’t the only player celebrating this week. Here’s what else you might have missed from the start of the grass season.
Murray’s hot streak
Andy Murray won his second straight Challenger title on Sunday at Nottingham with a dominant 6-4, 6-4 victory over Arthur Cazaux in the final. He is now riding a 10-match win streak (and has dropped just one set throughout), and is back into the top 40 for the first time since 2018.
After his victory on Sunday, the 36-year-old told the crowd he hoped to see his children later in the day for Father’s Day. As he spoke, “We’re here!” cries could be heard from the stands and Murray seemed genuinely surprised.
“Oh my god, I…
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