Frances Tiafoe, like the rest of the 127 men in this year's Australian Open draw, will have one ultimate goal - to win the tournament.
Tiafoe, who begins his Melbourne adventure on Sunday against Croatia's Borna Coric, is among the Top 20 seeds at the tournament and a dangerous floater in draw capable of snaring off the tournament favorites should an opportunity arise.
At 25, Tiafeo believes he is no longer an upstart and is entering an important phase in his career where he has revealed his desire to rise into the upper echelons of the sport. Last year, he touched the world's Top 10 for the first time in his career.
Tiafoe's best Grand Slam result came at the 2022 US Open, where he scored the finest win of his career by beating 22-time major champion Rafael Nadal. The flamboyant American also played one of the matches of the tournament in his five-set defeat to Carlos Alcaraz in the semifinals.
Having come so close, Tiafoe is not underestimating his chances of doing well at the Australian Open, where he made the quarterfinal back in 2019. In an interview with the American men's magazine Esquire, Tiafoe explains he wants to win the tournament.
"You know I’m not going to sugarcoat it. Straight up. I want to do this. I want to do it not just for me, but for my family, my partners, and for all the people who think they don’t have the chance. I’m not going to lie to you and make it sound fly. It’s just one goal."
2023 was a mixed year for Tiafoe, who won two ATP titles and became USA's No. 2 after attaining a personal best ranking of World No. 10. However, he was not consistent enough to stay there. He lost a key quarterfinal match to Ben Shelton at the US Open.
Nevertheless, for Tiafoe, trials and tribulations are all part of the learning curve. Testament to his already burgeoning presence on the main tour, the American was among the ATP's stars to be featured in the second season of Break Point on Netflix following his cameo in the first season.
Tiafoe believes his latest appearance will serve as an eye-opener for those fans and the audience unfamiliar with his humble background and how his parents worked day and night to fulfill his tennis aspirations.
"Slow and steady. If you do things the right way, put in the work, good things will happen. There’s ebbs and flows with everything. Trials and tribulations. But I think a lot of people will like seeing the progression. That run [in 2022] was obviously my big breakout moment. So, it was pretty cool that it got to be shown [in Season One]."
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