Frances Tiafoe was heavily criticized for his actions during Roger Federer's final match and Reilly Opelka jumped to his defence.
The criticism came in many forms, with some supporters believing it was rude for him to defeat him while others suggested he was wrong to aim at both Federer and Nadal with his returns. Opelka was offended by the criticism that Tiafoe was disrespectful and responded.
A fan wrote:
"While I’m a fan of Frances Tiafoe, I found it a bit weird that he tried to pelt both Roger and Rafa as hard as he could in the final moments of Roger’s career. He’s a professional and has the entire court open. Back to back points? I’m not sure Kyrgios would’ve even done that."
Opelka retweeted it and added a caption:
"You really can't make this stuff up. Surely this is a joke?"
It sparked a back and forth with the fan responding: "Certainly not a joke. Not saying he should’ve let Roger win the match, but hitting him and then gunning for Rafa 2 second later in the final moments of Rogers career? That’s a joke. He hit it 100 mph straight for both of their heads. The whole court was open."
Opelka replied:
"Got it. So next time Frances should be thinking 64mph FH right into Fed's FH volley because it's his last match.. cool."
The fan responded once more:
"Well it was clocked at 98 mph. So believe what you wish, but go ahead and look up the speed. The one that hit Roger could’ve gone out. Clearly not every 98 mph forehand hits the fence."
With Opelka replying one final time:
"If you played tennis you would know that returning a 115+ mph serve from a lefty isnt the easiest thing to do. And most of the time the safest return is big down the middle. Clearly you have never played, which is why i recommend u take ur talents to pickleball."
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