"She wants me to do this" - Frances Tiafoe on receiving encouragement from Serena Williams prior to his fourth round US Open win
ATP
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.
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."
"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.
Growing up in a household where soccer was king, my earliest memories are filled with chants from packed stadiums and the rhythm of a ball being passed across neighborhood streets. But somewhere along the way, the quiet elegance and raw emotion of tennis pulled me in. What began as a curiosity became a lifelong passion; not just for the sport itself, but for the stories it tells: of grit, of heartbreak, of improbable comebacks and human resilience.
As a tennis writer, I bring the observational lens of someone who didn’t grow up in the sport, but fell in love with it as an outsider; a perspective that lets me see both its technical beauty and its emotional depth. Over the years working with TennisUpToDate, I’ve had the privilege of reaching more than 3.5 million readers worldwide, with one of my features ranking among the site’s top three articles.
With a background in storytelling and a creative mind always searching for meaning beyond the scoreboard, I aim to craft narratives that go deeper than results and rankings. Whether it’s a rising star breaking through or a veteran fighting off Father Time, I try to capture the heartbeat behind the headlines.
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