?He Probably Thinks I?m Terrible? ? Roger Federer Loyalist Since Childhood Days, Frances Tiafoe Tells a Tale of Nerves in Front of the Swiss Maestro

American tennis star Frances Tiafoe is having a great time as far as his life on the tennis court is concerned. The 25-year-old fancies his chances of going into the deeper stages of Wimbledon after securing convincing victories in the first and second-round fixtures of the event. However, he has admitted that there’s one experience that would still make him nervous – playing in front of the Swiss maestro Roger Federer.

8-time Wimbledon winner Roger Federer is making his presence felt at this year’s Wimbledon with appearances at the royal box of the Centre Court. In a recent interview, Frances Tiafoe revealed the reason behind his reservations about appearing on a tennis court with Federer watching on.

Frances Tiafoe opens up on the daunting experience of playing in front of Roger Federer

Tiafoe won his maiden grass-court ATP title at the Stuttgart Open a month ago, thereby entering into the top 10 of the ATP rankings for the very first time. He is continuing with his good run of form on grass at the ongoing Wimbledon, with back-to-back straight-set victories in the opening 2 rounds of the event. He looks as ready as ever to take on Grigor Dimitrov in the third round. Having said that, the American still finds the prospect of playing at the Centre Court of the All England Club under the gaze of Roger Federer, a ‘nerve-wracking’ one.

Shedding light on this in a recent interview with the Tennis Channel, Tiafoe expressed what he felt while playing at past editions of the Laver Cup, as Roger Federer looked on. “Yeah, definitely… Definitely nerve-wracking… At a couple of Laver Cups when he was there watching, every ball that I missed I thought ?he probably thinks I?m terrible!'”, he said.

Indeed, the Swiss maestro’s presence is a glaring one, as was evident in the way he was applauded on his return to his favorite grand slam. Tiafoe has always had a huge admiration for the 20-time grand slam champion, as he once picked him as his choice for the greatest player of all time.

READ MORE: ?Most Perfect Guy in the World?: Frances Tiafoe Cites Roger Federer Example to Point Out the Critics

Federer remains the best in Tiafoe’s books

The rising star of American tennis has never shied away from expressing his opinions in front of the media. In a podcast appearance last year, Tiafoe revealed that although it is very difficult to pick one player as his favorite, it is Roger Federer who takes the cake for him, as he picked the Swiss legend ahead of his biggest rivals Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic. According to Tiafoe, Federer was extremely good on all surfaces and is an amazing ambassador of the sport.

Roger Federer served as a huge inspiration for the tennis career of Frances Tiafoe. Therefore, it is quite understandable why the American still feels anxious about hitting the tennis ball when the maestro himself is around the corner!

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