"She wants me to do this" - Frances Tiafoe on receiving encouragement from Serena Williams prior to his fourth round US Open win

American tennis star Frances Tiafoe received a very inspirational pep talk prior to his fourth round match at the 2024 US Open, as legendary compatriot Serena Williams had some motivational words for the Maryland native.

Tiafoe was slated to face Australian Alexei Popyrin for a trip to the quarterfinals. Popyrin was coming in off the biggest win of his career, having eliminated defending champion Novak Djokovic in the previous round. However, the Sydney native fell to Tiafoe in four sets, much to the delight of the raucous home crowd.

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Williams' words carry more weight than others, says Tiafoe

Prior to his match against Popyrin, Tiafoe received a motivational talk from the 23-time Grand Slam champion. The WTA legend reminded him to believe in himself, and expressed her desire to see him succeed. Following his victory, Tiafoe shed some more light on the importance of hearing those words from an the tennis icon.

"It was really cool to have her want to talk to me before my match and really say she wants me to do this thing that I'm capable of doing," said the former World No.10. "Coming from her, it's just so loud. I don't think any of it will hit me like that if anybody else said it to me.
"Her telling me she just wants nothing but the best for me, giving me some game right before the match, 'How are you feeling, where are you at?' It's so funny her asking me that. I'm like nervous to respond. She's not someone you're going to bullsh*t."

Tiafoe is aiming for his first Grand Slam title in New York, after reaching the semifinals a few years ago. The American will face former World No.3 Grigor Dimitrov in what should be an entertaining quarterfinal encounter.