"The panic button’s a bit less now": Frances Tiafoe shows mental toughness in Cincinnati victory

Frances Tiafoe shook off a rocky start to defeat Ugo Humbert in the third round of the Cincinnati Open 2025, using his trademark speed and variety to turn the match around. The American secured his spot in the Round of 16 with another straight-sets victory.

“It was quite weird in the beginning,” Tiafoe admitted to Tennis Channel. “He came out super loose, and it seemed like something was bothering him a little bit. He started swinging out, broke me early, and won the first 12 points of the match — not an ideal start. But I started focusing on my side of the court, taking one point at a time, getting my feet into it. I’ve been returning so well lately, so I knew if I could get a break back, I’d be flying after that. I really liked how I settled in and performed after that.”

The world No. 14 has a significant amount of points to defend this week in Cincinnati, where he reached the final in 2024, losing to Jannik Sinner. At the start of his match against Humbert, Tiafoe seemed to be feeling the pressure, as the Frenchman won the first 11 points consecutively and easily went up 3-0 against an erratic Tiafoe, who had to adjust his game to get into the rhythm of the match.

Against the left-handed Frenchman’s flat, powerful game, Tiafoe opted for a more measured approach. “If I can move the ball around and use my speed to be aggressive, it makes a difference,” he explained. “He likes to play at one pace — big, big — so I tried to get rallies going and change direction a lot. It’s tough when he’s playing super big, but I thought I did a really good job overall today.”

Tiafoe ended up winning the match 6-4, 6-4 and advanced to the Round of 16 in Cincinnati. A couple of days earlier, he had already secured a straight-sets victory against Roberto Carballés Baena (6-4, 6-3), and Tiafoe, as he does every year, looks especially inspired when playing on home soil.

The American also credited his growing mental resilience when facing Humbert. “The panic button’s a bit less now,” he said. “Just trying to find solutions, not excuses. Nobody cares if you have a slow start — keep going. Great start? Keep going. If it’s a battle, keep going. I’m really living by Nipsey’s marathon mentality and just enjoying the journey, whatever it looks like.”

Tiafoe has also found inspiration from his peers in the resurgent wave of American men’s tennis. “It’s kind of an unspoken thing,” he said. “Ben [Shelton] and I are super close, and it’s motivating to see all of us — me, Tommy [Paul], Reilly [Opelka], Fritz — doing well. When you see those guys win, you believe you can do it too. It’s motivating to hang out with guys you compete against and see them succeed.”

Next up is a quarterfinal against 22-year-old Danish talent Holger Rune. “He’s hungry. I’m hungry. Last year the courts were lightning fast, and we both battled hard. I pulled out some crazy shots at the end, a couple net cords, a flick pass in the breaker. He’s super consistent, wins a lot of matches, and can do all the shots. I hope we get a night match — that’d be awesome. Either way, it’s going to go to the wire.”

They have only one prior matchup, which was precisely in the 2024 Cincinnati semifinals. On that occasion, Tiafoe overcame a set deficit and ended up winning in a third-set tie-break: 4-6, 6-1, 7-6(4), securing his first-ever appearance in a Masters 1000 final.