“Anybody Can Win Slams” – Frances Tiafoe Quashes Scheduling Woes With a Whole New Verdict on Lack of Dominance Post Big 3 Era

On clay, the rallies are typically longer because it blunts power. Here, the court swing is also referred to as one of the hectic periods of the season (April-June). Shortly after clinching the Monte Carlo Masters, Carlos Alcaraz was heard sharing his thoughts on why he prefers one-week Masters 1000s to two-week ones. Then, a few days later, in the final of the Barcelona Open, he perhaps couldn’t endure the stress of embracing ten matches in just less than two weeks and was seen crumbling due to an injury in the adductor muscle in his right leg (which later rule him out of the Madrid Open). He lost that match to Holger Rune, and following that defeat, Alcaraz highlighted, “Playing so many demanding matches in such a short time is always challenging.” He called this schedule “super demanding” and hailed Rafael Nadal for his dominance during the clay-court swing. Is this hectic schedule taking a heavy toll on the player’s physical and mental well-being? Well, America’s Frances Tiafoe recently came up with an interesting statement. What’s it?

During the Big 3 era, Rafael Nadal ruled clay, winning 14 French Opens along with multiple titles in Monte Carlo (11), Barcelona (12), Madrid (5), and Rome (10), often sweeping the spring clay swing. Roger Federer dominated late-season hard courts and grass, capturing five straight Wimbledon titles from 2003 to 2007. Meanwhile, Novak Djokovic established his stronghold on hard courts, showcasing his era of dominance.

Why haven’t we seen a similar form of dominance in the last few years? According to Andy Murray, it’s because of the “longer events” that make things a bit harder to achieve. But Frances Tiafoe recently delivered a whole new verdict on this. Tiafoe says, “I don’t think it’s a schedule thing. I just think it’s a level thing. I think the level is very similar, anybody can clip anybody on a given day. I think it’s exciting times. Tennis reminds me of, right now, from 2000 to 2004 or 2005. It’s a window.“

Tiafoe further added, “Anybody can win Slams. Anybody can win tournaments like this. We’re going to have, probably every Masters (season), there’ll probably be eight, nine winners. I’m pretty sure. Maybe Alcaraz and Sinner will probably get two or three. But it’s an open game. I don’t think anyone fears anyone. No one’s that much better than anyone, except Sinner and Alcaraz. I respect those two. But I think everybody else, if they’re not playing well, they can lose.” He’s happy to witness this kind of unpredictability on the Tour.

Speaking about his own experiences, he said, “I lived the ‘real era.’ So for me, it feels great. It feels great to know I can play quarters or semis at a Slam, and that’s not like winning it, in a sense. Because I’m 20 at the Australian Open (in 2019), I lose to Rafa in the quarters, and in my mind, I’m like, I’m not beating Rafa.” That’s the belief.

However, his compatriot, Taylor Fritz, believes this is a “very tough part of the year to just win, win, win, win.” But he highlighted the dominance of the ‘Big 3’ and hailed them for bringing success time and again despite playing non-stop tennis. 

Was it the first time we’ve seen Frances Tiafoe standing tall with a slightly different take on vital issues, though? Well, here’s another interesting thought that he shared recently on the possibility of the players boycotting Grand Slam events due to the PTPA lawsuit. What did he say?

“They’re fake” – Frances Tiafoe on whether players could boycott the Grand Slam events

On March 21, top-ranked players of both men’s and women’s divisions signed a letter to the Grand Slam events to have a more significant say in the events, and they also urged the Grand Slam to increase prize money to have a better share of the total revenue. They also urged all four major tournaments to open their purses and contribute to the welfare programs on both the ATP and the WTA Tour.

With all these things and the PTPA lawsuit, there was a question looming in the tennis world about the participation of the top players in the major events. Hearing all these, Frances Tiafoe recently came up with a statement saying he supports it, but “The problem is, though, and you need the best players in the world to do it, the problem is, though, I just don’t trust these guys out here. I feel like they’re fake. Everyone would be like, oh, yeah, [in] the meeting before, yeah, man, screw this, man, f— this, man. I ain’t playing, like, we all need money. It’s about the tour, it’s about the next generation, this and that. Next day, you see everybody tying their shoes, over there doing bands and all that. You don’t know who’s really about it or not, because you say it, and then you—— around and pull out, and then all these dudes stayed in.”

He said that although he feels these are all to do good things for the game, Tiafoe feels that until the players get “real unity” and everyone is on the same page, it will not “move the needle“. Tiafoe never shies away from speaking his mind, right? Share your thoughts on this in the comment box.

On the other side, Frances Tiafoe will also step onto the court to play against the Frenchman Alexandre Muller in the R32 of the 2025 Madrid Open. Can the American win this match?