'Unacceptable': Tiafoe After Throwing Away Chances Against Shelton At US Open
ATP
Frances Tiafoe didn't manage to equal his result at last year's US Open by missing out on the semi-final, and he wasn't happy.
Tiafoe was sensational last year at the US Open, going to the semi-final and nearly beating Carlos Alcaraz. He didn't do that this year, though he didn't play as well either. Despite having his best year so far, the American didn't look right for much of this North American stretch, so his defeat wasn't that surprising.
He had some chances and faced a player whom he should have beaten by virtue of experience alone. Ben Shelton is a fabulous player but Tiafoe should have won that match and he knows it. The disappointment was huge.
Yeah, I thought it was super hot tonight, really muggy, super humid. Was sweating a lot, balls were really heavy. He was able to hit through the ball a bit more than I was. Yeah, he just played better than me. I gave him a lot of chances to stay in the match, and he took advantage of it. Hats off to him
The American was particularly disappointed with how he approached certain parts of this match, calling it unacceptable. There was a clear lack of urgency on his part and it's a shame because he could have won the match considering that Shelton was certainly a playable opponent for him.
A little bit of a lull, played a bad game in the opening game in the fourth. Yeah, I mean, obviously after a tough set, after such an up-and-down set, we both broke each other a lot. Not common in men's tennis. How many breaks there was, pretty poor level both sides. Yeah, it was a little bit of a lull and unacceptable on my part.
Yet, it's over for Tiafoe, who had to watch a special celebration from Shelton, which he explained after the match.
