For Francis Tiafoe, a consummate team player – a rare quality in a highly individual sport like tennis – missing out on the Paris Olympics just a few weeks ago was a heartbreaking experience.
“It’s a really difficult decision for me and not an easy one,” Tiafoe told The Post just five days before he takes on the U.S. Open in pursuit of Grand Slam glory that has eluded not only him but every other American male tennis player since Andy Roddick won a major tournament on home soil in 2003.
“I love representing my country, I love being an American, I love where I come from,” said the 26-year-old Maryland native and son of Sierra Leonean immigrants, “But it’s paid off.”
Indeed, after giving up on a return from the grass of Wimbledon to the clay of the French Open (not his preferred surface), Tiafoe is heading into the year’s final Grand Slam on a high note while others appear to be burning out.
The smart move propelled Tiafoe to reach the Cincinnati Open final on Monday, his final big tune-up before the U.S. Open, and also lifted him back into the top 20 in the rankings — No. 20 to be exact.
He returned to his rightful place, joining Taylor Fritz (12th), Ben Shelton (13th), Tommy Paul (14th) and Sebastian Korda (16th) as five Americans ranked in the top 20 for the first time since October 1996.
After reaching a career-high world ranking of No. 10 in June 2023, Tiafoe was barely ranked 29th among the top 32 players when Wimbledon got underway in the first week of July.
But then something seemed to click among the Big Four, as he fondly known, as he defeated eventual champion Carlos Alcaraz in a thrilling five-set battle 5-7, 6-2, 4-6, 7-6 (2), 6-2 in a thrilling third-round match.
But there was still friendship in the air between the two as they reunited early Wednesday morning at Arthur Ashe Stadium, on the same court where they played another epic five-set battle in the 2022 U.S. Open semifinals before Alcaraz won his first of four Grand Slam titles.
“I have the utmost respect for him,” Tiafoe said of his 21-year-old rival. “So seeing him tell me today, ‘This is how you run.’ [at the Cincinnati Open] He’s been like, ‘You deserve this’ and ‘I hope you continue to do this’… he knows I can contribute to the game by doing well.
“And that’s just a fact. I think we can continue to move the game forward with personality and other things. And I think we have an obligation to do our best and continue to do well.”
Tiafoe also recently began working with David Witt, the former coach of women’s tennis stars Venus Williams and Jessica Pegula, and already feels an obligation to give back to society while in the midst of her career.
So he attended a local National Junior Tennis League clinic on Wednesday.
He also established the Francis Tiafoe Foundation at the USTA.
Tiafoe, who got the chance to play tennis because his father was the maintenance manager at the Junior Tennis Champions Center in College Park, Maryland, now wants other kids to see themselves in the sport.
“I was in that position once, and now I get to give back and it energizes me,” he said. “I love seeing kids happy. I love being able to put smiles on their faces. That’s what I was all about growing up.”
Then he added with a laugh, “It’s better to do it when I’m as important as you are and really influential than when I’m old and retired and people don’t really remember you.”
