Frances Tiafoe is looking to go from strength to strength in the 2023 season as the American looks to build on his victory at the Houston Open in April.
Tiafoe raced to the Houston 2023 final without dropping a set as the 25-year-old beat Steve Johnson, Jason Kubler, and Gijs Brouwer throughout a rain-soaked competition. He then continued his impressive form in the final by beating Tomas Martín Etcheverry 7-6. 7-6.
It was a special moment for Tiafoe as the American celebrated his first ATP tournament win since lifting the Delray Beach title in 2018. In addition, Tiafoe moved up the ATP world rankings to 11th and, when speaking to the official ATP Tennis Podcast, the 25-year-old admitted the relief of ending his five-year wait for another tournament victory.
"Especially where I'm going at right now. It was a little frustrating. Even though I was doing so well, like I was 15th at the time during the tournament now I'm 11th. I felt annoyed I was up there with only one title. Fully it wasn't really showing how well I'm playing. I'm doing well in big events but I'm not winning them. And I think winning a tournament like that will help what I'm trying to get in these last stages and I know what that feels like."
Tiafoe has added consistency to his game in 2023 which led to quarter-final runs at the Dallas Open and Mexican Open. The American then followed up his impressive results by reaching the semi-finals at Indian Wells, where he eventually lost to Danill Medvedev.
Ultimately, the improvement has given Tiafoe confidence about targeting bigger milestones for the remainder of the 2023 season.
"I mean, why not get in the top 10? If you're 11 or something, you might as well. I have my sight for big stuff this year and what I want to do, but I just want to keep winning and keep winning matches and keep putting myself in a position to just sweat some special things."
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