Frances Tiafoe received flak when he became part of the anti-Olympics squad. “I care way more about the Open, being as prepared for the Open as possible,” he had said.  True to his words, the American tennis star was in Washington 2024, to get ready for the last major of the season: the US Open. After being on the receiving end of his Olympic decision, Tiafoe was surprised by the support of the home crowd. After a quiet season, finally, there was some noise for the American tennis star.

It has been a relatively quiet year for Tiafoe, filled with repeated early-round exits, except on a few occasions, particularly in April, at ATP 250 Houston. There, he lost the finals to Ben Shelton. After a long wait, he again made his presence felt at DC Open semifinals in front of the home crowd. During his semifinal match against his compatriot, Sebastian Korda, he tried to put up a fight. However, Korda crushed every chance as he brushed Tiafoe aside in straight sets with 6-4,6-4. But unlike the other times, when he was somewhere alone on the court after defeat. This time the crowd stood firm behind him.

During the post-match conference, Tiafoe acknowledged the love he finally received during the match. When the interviewer asked Tiafoe about the difference in the crowd from his tournaments in the past and during the semifinals, Tiafoe answered in the affirmative. He said, “I think it’s the best crowd by far. I thought it was pretty much full. People going absolutely nuts.” However, the crowd wasn’t riled up for nothing.

Tiafoe gave them a good show to make them want more. He further added, “Yeah, I did a great job of getting them in there early, getting them riled up. They were so with me.” After a very slow start, things are finally turning around for the American tennis star. He is getting his form back, has a crowd on his side, and finally, there is love.

“I think everybody was really excited for me this year, really want me to get going, not only here, but the next tournament. I can really feel the love that they have for me here right now. We’re going to use that for tomorrow, for sure.”– he remarked. This must have been quite a surprise for the Tiafoe after receiving backlash for his Olympics decision and somewhere regretting it. 

Tiafoe’s sad revelation about missing Paris Olympics for Citi Open

Tiafoe’s Washington 2024 has been somewhat successful, as he made it to the semifinals, while trying to get his knee back in 100% form. However, the decision to stay back at home and get ready for the home slam came at a huge cost: missing the Olympics! And somewhere it was difficult for the American tennis star to reign in the brewing emotions when he, Coco Gauff and co. were getting ready to step on the Clay court.

Therefore Tailor chose to turn a blind eye to the happenings at the Paris and push himself towards the preparation for the hard court swing. When asked about his decision to stay back, as everyone headed to the Opening ceremony, he said, “Yeah, brutal, brutal. Brutal, yeah. It’s tough. More tough, just like seeing everybody on the boat and stuff like that. That was a tough day. I had to play later that day in Atlanta. I’m like, Yeah, I’m turning off every TV and social media. That would have been a cool experience.” 

However, the next Olympics would be in front of the home crowd in Los Angeles in 2028. Tiafoe would certainly get to enjoy the best of both worlds: the US Crowd, and the Olympics in addition to preparation for the US Open if the dates are favorable.