"He wants his first major" - Tracy Austin on Frace Tiafoe
ATP
Tracy Austin believes Frances Tiafoe is eager to win his first major, and the former American player thinks he can do it.
Tiafoe has always been a very talented player, but his lack of dedication to the game prevented him from making a significant breakthrough. He had a few moments the previous year, but this year, it all came together.
He reached the semi-finals of the US Open, beating Rafael Nadal along the way. Although his efforts resulted in a five-set loss to Carlos Alcaraz at the US Open, it was still a run that showed Tiafoe that he's capable of winning big matches and making deep runs.
Tiafoe showed a lot of maturity on the tennis courts this year, something he struggled with previously. It paid off for him because he approached the game with much more dedication, which yielded results.
Former WTA World No. 1 Tracy Austin recently appeared as a guest on the Tennis Channel, and she spoke about Tiafoe, praising the young American.
"I think the professionalism he has shown more throughout the year. His ability to play point by point and not have some of those lapses has really started to kick in. That builds on itself."
"He's got to win more matches, gets more confidence and beating Nadal at the US Open doesn't hurt following it up by beating Rublev. That would have been a match where Francis would have let down before but he puts his paddle to the metal and takes Alcaraz too five sets."
According to Tracy, Tiafoe could have previously gotten a bit satisfied with who he was as a professional. But after tasting what it feels like to play the biggest matches, he will want more.
"I think that he thinks that before I was a little satisfied band wasn't as professional as I could have. But now he's gotten the taste of it getting to the semis of the US Open and those late night matches, he wants more and I think he wants his first major."
