Tiafoe looking to build momentum and seek another semi-final in New York | ATP Tour

US Open

Tiafoe wants to gain momentum and seeks another semi-final in New York

The American faces Dimitrov and his compatriot Fritz goes with Zverev

September 02, 2024

After not having the best of times at the start of the season, Frances Tiafoe’s year now includes two finals (Houston and Cincinnati), two semi-finals (Delray Beach and Washington) and four quarter-finals (US Open, Hong Kong, Dallas and Atlanta)… but nothing like the US Open.

Between the stage, the effervescence of the crowd and the tennis that is getting stronger, Tiafoe wants to continue growing in Flushing Meadows and this Tuesday he will try to maintain his momentum against the No. 9 seed, Grigor Dimitrov, who has a 3-1 lead over the American in the Lexus ATP Head2Head and the Bulgarian took their most recent meeting in straight sets in the third round of Wimbledon 2023.

For Tiafoe, doing well in New York has become an annual tradition. The final Major of the 2024 season has been no different and as the 20th seed he will play at least the quarterfinals for the third consecutive year. And what better way to do it than to close the day at Arthur Ashe.

“I always dreamed of playing on this court [desde que era] “I was a kid. I used to hit the wall and I wanted to compete on this court,” Tiafoe said. “Watching the Williams sisters win titles here, watching Roger win here a million times, I was like, ‘I want to play on this court. ’ It’s so iconic, obviously named after Arthur Ashe, so I wanted to be a part of that. I think it brings out the best in me.”

What do you expect from the match against Dimitrov? “He is very talented, he has been a talented player for a long time, and at 33, he is finding his form again and hitting all his shots. I am going to make him fight for it,” said the 2022 semi-finalist.

Earlier in the day, Taylor Fritz and Alexander Zverev will meet in the other quarter-final, where they will face each other for the first time since the American’s epic five-set round of 16 win over his German rival at Wimbledon in July.

This will be the tenth meeting between two players who know each other intimately, with Zverev leading the Lexus ATP Head2Head 5-4.