Frances Tiafoe said that 'he felt like Roger Federer' after beating Daniil Medvedev at the 2024 Laver Cup in Berlin, and he explained what he meant by it after the match.
On the second day of the 2024 Laver Cup, Tiafoe played Medvedev in a singles match. The American player had never beaten Medvedev before this match, so obviously, there was lots of motivation from his side.
When the Russian won the opening set 6-3, it seemed like their H2H record wouldn't change. Medvedev seemed well on his way to beating his opponent again, but the American found some inspiration.
He won the second set after lots of battling and then outplayed his opponent in the match tie-break as well to give Team World the 4-2 lead at that moment. While giving a post-match interview on the court, Tiafoe said he felt like Federer in the second set as he played some super solid tennis.
"It was crazy, I played pretty well there in the second set (laughs). Honestly, I just started having fun, laughing with my team and really finding my rhythm."
"The court is obviously much slower to what I’m used to playing on, so it was tough to play Danill on this court, but, mid-way through the second set, I felt like I was Roger Federer, honestly."
Tiafoe is no stranger to playing superb tennis, but he's never really reached Federer's level. It doesn't mean he's incapable of doing that, but he was also aware of the fact that it didn't happen in his match against the Russian.
The comment got some laughs from the crowd, and Tiafoe was laughing as well, so media members clearly wanted to know whether he was serious when he said it. In line with his personality, Tiafoe admitted that he was mostly joking because he saw Federer in the stands and just continued their banter.
Tiafoe further revealed that they always joke with each other when they meet, so with that in mind, the American just kept it out. He felt it was a nice moment to give Federer some flowers because the Laver Cup is a tournament the Swiss legend co-founded.
"No, that was a joke, because I saw him there. He just jokes around with me all the time every time I see him. What a guy he is. So I just had to shout him out. It's his event, too, so I thought it was a nice touch. Yeah, it was a pretty good feeling, yeah."
Tiafoe and Federer have some connecting dots. They played a prominent match in tennis history at the 2022 Laver Cup when the American bested Federer and Rafael Nadal in a doubles match, which he played with Jack Sock.
It was the final competitive match of Federer’s career, so in essence, the American sent Federer into retirement. This time, the 20-time major winner got to watch him again win a match at the Laver Cup, as the American thrives in such a competition.
The format is loose enough for Tiafoe to show his best as a showman and also as a player. It’s why he keeps coming back to the competition, and he’s played a huge part in both Team World's wins in the past two years.