Entertainer Frances Tiafoe Erupts Tennis Fans as He Ends 14-Year African-American Drought by Making History at ATP Singles Rankings

Frances Tiafoe continues to climb up the ranks in the ATP tour. After winning the title in Stuttgart yesterday, he entered the ATP top ten for the first time in his career. The American’s consistency was always questioned by the experts during his early days. However, in the last nine months, he has proven them wrong by making the US Open semi-final after beating Rafael Nadal and Andrey Rublev and following it up with two titles in 2023.

It’s not just a landmark moment for Frances Tiafoe, it’s in fact a massive moment for the African American community. The newly ranked world number 10 has just ended a long-term drought for his community.

Twitterati hails Frances Tiafoe after the monumental victory

Tiafoe ended a 5,256 days drought for the African American community by becoming the first male player since James Blake to enter the ATP Top 10. Blake was out of the ATP top 10 in January 2009, thereby starting the 14-year drought.

The fans were impressed by Tiafoe’s achievement, as many took to Twitter to congratulate Big Foe for his recent results and wish him well for the future.

A fan revealed a story from five years ago when her father had predicted success for Tiafoe.

” Big Foe. Not the little one. Top 10” – A fan came up with a cheeky tweet to celebrate Tiafoe’s success.

With the Paris Olympics coming up next year, fans have already started to manifest an Olympic gold for the Big Foe.

A fan was quite bewildered by the fact that the drought lasted 14 years.

USTA’s subpar efforts were also questioned at the same time.

Amidst all the fan reactions, the most beautiful tweet was from a father who said, “I’m retweeting this post to show to my son, because representation is important.“.

What is the secret behind Frances Tiafoe’s recent success?

Tiafoe’s recent success is also down to his tiebreak conversion abilities. After winning only 2 of the 15 tiebreaks in 2017, the American hasn’t registered a single sub 50% tiebreak conversion season. Since the start of 2018, Tiafoe has won 98 of the 165 tiebreaks he has contested in, a whopping 59.4% conversion rate.

READ MORE: A Day After Being Lauded, Frances Tiafoe Lives Up to the Standards Set by Serena Williams’ Former Coach as He Reaches First-Ever Grass Court Final

These numbers shoot up to 64.6% since the start of 2022, where Tiafoe won 42 of the 65 tiebreakers. For context, during his famous US Open semi-final run last year, he held an 8-0 record in the tiebreaks. The American also played six tiebreakers on his way to the title in Stuttgart, where he held a 5-1 record, which also included two tiebreak set victories in the final.

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