Frances Tiafoe has one word to describe his life since reaching the semifinals at the US Open in September.
“Whirlwind.”
Since his breakthrough, the 25-year-old has scored a number of famous fans — including LeBron James, who tweeted at him during the tournament — earned new sponsorships and even got to play in the NBA All-Star Celebrity Game in February.
“You know, my status has changed,” Tiafoe told ESPN.com last week from Madrid. “I’m looked at totally different [now], and not only in the game of tennis but in the culture sense. … It’s been a year of experiences for me, [due to] all the work that I’ve put in. Everything is coming to fruition.”
Included in that year of new experiences was his first-ever title on clay. Tiafoe took home the trophy in Houston last month with a dominant run in which he didn’t drop a set. The triumph — which marked his second ATP title and first since 2018 — saw him rise to his current career-high ranking of No. 11.
Tiafoe partially credits LeBron James for the achievement. Before the tournament got underway, Tiafoe went to watch the Los Angeles Lakers play against the Houston Rockets and spent time with James after the game.
“I’ve met him a couple of times now, but it just never gets old,” Tiafoe said. “When I got into the car to leave, I was like, ‘Why am I so damp?’ and I guess it’s because I was just so f—ing nervous. We speak normally to one another but you never get it out of your head that it’s LeBron James.
“When you watch him play, and you see what he’s been able to do — it’s his 20th year in the league — and how he plays at such a high level, and then he says to you that he’s following what you’re doing, after that, it’s just like, ‘Man, let me go and have a good week.'”
Now Tiafoe is hoping he can further his momentum throughout the European clay season, although he hasn’t quite been able to do that during his first two events. He lost in his opening-round match in Barcelona and fell on Monday to Pedro Cachin in the Round of 32 at Madrid. He will next play in the Italian Open, which gets underway next week.
Tiafoe believes he is capable of even more the rest of the year. While he’s never advanced past the Round of 64 at Roland Garros, he wants to reach the second week in Paris this time around — and has even loftier goals for the grass and hardcourt seasons. He wants to make a deep run at Wimbledon and then finish what he started last year in New York.
“It’s going to give me goosebumps to get back on [Arthur…
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