What a tournament Frances Tiafoe is having so far. After upsetting Rafael Nadal in the fourth round of the 2022 US Open, the American star has another massive win to his credit. Earlier today, he defeated Andrey Rublev in the quarter-finals of the tournament. In a match lasting two hours and 36 minutes at the Arthur Ashe stadium, Tiafoe got the better of Rublev in straight sets.
Further, with the home crowd behind him, Tiafoe put on a power-packed performance to reach his maiden Grand Slam semi-final. Additionally, with this win, he had another feather to his cap.
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Frances Tiafoe ends United States’ long wait
With his win over Rublev, Tiafoe became the first Black man from his country to reach the semi-final of the US Open since Arthur Ashe in 1972. Thus, he ended his country’s 50-year-old drought by reaching the semi-finals. It turned out to be a special occasion for him as he did it on the court named after the legend Arthur Ashe himself.
Frances Tiafoe becomes the first Black 🇺🇸 man to reach a #USOpen semifinal since Arthur Ashe in 1972.
He did it on the court named after Ashe. #BeOpen pic.twitter.com/IEJtqCe2vo
— US Open Tennis (@usopen) September 7, 2022
Tiafoe was dominant right from the word go and gave Rublev hardly any breathing space. Moreover, he held his serve throughout the match which turned out to be the turning point.
The opening set was a keenly contested affair, proceeding into the tiebreaker. However, Tiafoe won some crucial points in the tiebreaker to win the first set 7-6 (3).
Further, the story repeated itself in the second set. Both players found it difficult to break their opponent’s serve. Like the first set, the second set, too, went into a tiebreaker. It was one-way traffic in the tiebreaker, however, with Tiafoe winning the second set comfortably in the end 7-6 (0).
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The only break of the match came in the third set when Tiafoe broke Rublev’s serve. Subsequently, he served out the set 6-4 to enter the next round.
Who will Tiafoe face next?
Riding high on confidence, Frances Tiafoe will face the winner of the match between Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner in the semi-finals. The last quarter-final of the 2022 US Open men’s singles will be played later today.
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Can Tiafoe go on to win the US Open title this year? Let us know your views in the comments below.