Tribute from Tiafoe towards Big Four with 'brutal' nature of Grand Slams: "It's tough, it's not easy, a lot of distractions'

Frances Tiafoe praised the Big-4's consistency in Grand Slams after advancing to the fourth round of the US Open.

The American tennis player is on a solid path at Flushing Meadows and has already reached the second week of the year's final Grand Slam.

Following his victory over the 22nd seed Adrian Mannarino in the third round, Tiafoe commented on the challenges of consistently progressing to the later stages of a Grand Slam and highlighted the accomplishments of the Big-4:

"It's tough. I mean, hats off to what Novak, Rafa, Fed, Murray, those guys, even guys like [Tomas] Berdych and [Juan Martin] Del Potro, all those guys who consistently make quarters, semis," Tiafoe said.

"It's tough, it's not easy. It's two weeks, a lot of distractions. It's just long and you've got to stay in the moment for two weeks. It's brutal,” he added.

"But it's definitely worth it. A lot of hype. But I enjoy it. I think here is how I want to approach all the other ones. Stop making it such a big deal. Obviously, everybody wants to do well in the slams. I put so much emphasis on the slams this year after what I did last year here in the Open, I think that was almost a detriment to me.”

"Just go out there and do your thing. Have fun, complete hard, get the crowd involved, and let the chips fall where they may,” claimed world No. 10.

"At the end of the day I'm 25. Whether it happens now or another time, it's okay. I think that's what Novak and those guys do. They just go out and do their thing no matter what. I think that's the best approach," ‘Big-Foe’ concluded.

This is the fourth consecutive time that Tiafoe has advanced to the round of 16 at the US Open, with his best result being the semifinals in 2022, including a victory over Rafael Nadal in the fourth round. This time, he will face world No. 110 Rinky Hijikata, one of the surprises of this year.