American tennis star
Frances Tiafoe has stated that he is
looking to send a text to former world number one
Andre Agassi after matching
his unique feat at the
French Open. The second Grand Slam of the year is moving
towards the business end, with remaining players giving their all to secure the
ultimate prize.
America's Tiafoe is among eight players who are still alive in the men’s singles category. The 27-year-old cemented his spot in the quarterfinals
of the second Grand Slam of the year after beating Germany’s Daniel Altmaier in
straight sets with a score of 6-3, 6-4, 7-6. With that win, Tiafoe achieved a
unique milestone.
He became the first player to cement a spot in the quarterfinals
of the mega-event without losing a set since former world number one Agassi did
it back in 1995. Tiafoe was informed about the record by the presenter on the
court. The Maryland-born was ecstatic and stated that he was going to text
Agassi to say that they are ‘boys now’.
“Yeah it’s a
pretty crazy stat, I just heard that and I’m pretty shocked about it,” he said.
“I
want to keep going. As great as that is, it’s still a big opportunity out here
and I just want to keep going, not worrying about that. I’ll definitely need to
give Andre Agassi a text and be like ‘I guess we’re boys now.’ It really is
crazy.”
It is the
first time in his career that Tiafoe cemented his spot in the quarterfinals of
the French Open. He will now face Italy’s Lorenzo Musetti in the last-eight
clash. The 23-year-old cemented his spot in the fifth round at the Roland
Garros after beating Denmark’s Holger Rune in the round of 16 with a score of
7-5, 3-6, 6-3, 6-2. It will be the sixth meeting between the two players in professional
tennis. In the previous five meetings, Tiafoe had a slight edge as he won on
three occasions and suffered two defeats.