Frances Tiafoe Joins Compatriot Ben Shelton In Withdrawing From Sofia Open
ATP
Frances Tiafoe is the latest big name to withdraw from next week's Sofia Open for an undisclosed reason.
Tiafoe, the American men's No. 3, suffered his fourth defeat in his last six matches at the Paris Masters on Tuesday. He was beaten by Kazakhstan's Alexander Bublik 6-3, 6-4. Tiafoe failed to create a single break point in a one-sided contest that lasted just 68 minutes, one of his shortest of the season.
Tiafoe joins compatriot Ben Shelton on the absentees list of the Sofia Open, which also includes Australia's Aleksandar Vukic. The tournament's top seed in Bulgaria's capital, Taylor Fritz, is also likely to pull out after aggravating an abdominal injury during his match against Sebastian Baez in Paris that forced him to withdraw from his subsequent round.
Tiafoe's place in the 32-player singles draw will now go to an Emergency Substitution. Sofia, along with Metz, will serve as the final two tournaments of the regular tennis season. Tiafoe's withdrawal means that he played his last match of 2023 at the Paris Masters.
After a breakthrough season at the Grand Slam level in 2022, big things were expected from the man nicknamed "Big Foe" who has produced spasmodic moments of brilliance.
Tiafoe managed to win two titles, ending his five-year drought during a sodden week in Houston. He won four matches in one weekend to win the title.
The 25-year-old memorably added a second trophy of the season at the Stuttgart Open, saving a championship point in the final to beat Jan-Lennard Struff in a thrilling third-set tiebreak. Although his results were mixed since that run, he managed a respectable showing at the US Open, finishing as a quarterfinalist.
Tiafoe was part of the American team that suffered an ignominious exit at the Davis Cup group stage, finishing third in a group containing Netherlands, Finland, and Croatia.
