FOR ’24 FINALIST TIAFOE, FULFILLMENT IS A JOURNEY

10TH SEED: ‘YOU’VE GOT TO KEEP GOING’

By Richard Osborn

When last month top-ranked golfer Scottie Scheffler opened up on struggling to find fulfillment in the everyday grind of the PGA Tour, his candor struck a chord with many professional athletes across the sports world. Even when he’s winning, Scheffler confided, “it only lasts a few minutes, that kind of euphoric feeling.”

Sure, said Scheffler, the trophies bring a sense of satisfaction, of accomplishment, but “it’s not fulfilling from a sense of the deepest places of your heart.”

Frances Tiafoe can relate.

“Fulfillment is a journey,” said Tiafoe on Monday after booking a spot in the Round of 16 at the Cincinnati Open for the second straight year. “People who look up to us, who are coming up behind us, need to understand that fulfillment is a journey — wins, losses, tough times, whatever the case may be. You’re doing it every day; getting up, practicing, trying to get to that goal, and even when you get there, you have to keep going. A quote that I love is: ‘Just because you scored a touchdown doesn’t mean you’ve won the game’. You’ve got to keep going. I think there’s a bigger meaning there, for sure.”

Tiafoe hopes to keep going here at the Lindner Family Tennis Center. This, after all, is where last summer he played the tournament of his career. The 27-year-old American muscled his way into the first and only ATP Masters 1000 final of his career (l. to Jannik Sinner, 7-6(4), 6-2). But he knows there are no ‘givens’; no one will roll out the red carpet for a return trip to the title match.

“I just take care of everything right in front of me. I can’t affect the draw or affect anything without being elite in the present,” he said. “I’m just trying to win every match I can. I try to feel better and better every match. But it’s awesome to come back. The fans are amazing here every year.”

Inching back toward the Top 10 in the PIF ATP Rankings, Tiafoe is plenty motivated. After reaching the Houston final in April, he posted quarterfinals at Roland Garros and on home turf in Washington. He credits his closest tour companions — countrymen Taylor Fritz, Tommy Paul and first-time Masters 1000 titlist Ben Shelton with spurring him on.

“We’re all really close, man. Guys are competing at the highest level, and they want to win. When you see each other win, you believe you can, too. Guys are winning, everyone’s texting each other, ‘Congrats, man.’ It’s all good blood. We don’t want to lose to each other at the same time, so I think we have a great competitive spirit. We got, what, four or five guys in the Top 20, Top 15? A couple guys in the Top 10? We’re in a great spot. Guys are winning Masters 1000s. The game’s open. It’s kind of like whoever wants it really bad week to week.”

Is a Grand Slam title from that group a possibility, the first since Andy Roddick at the
2003 US Open? Can a new face emerge to disrupt the Sinner-Alcaraz duopoly, which
has now collectively accounted for eight of the last nine major championships?

“We’ll know in two weeks,” he said, looking ahead at the 2025 US Open “I mean, why not? Anything can happen. I think Taylor can do it. I think Ben can do it. I think Tommy’s in a great situation; he can do it. Myself. I don’t think an American is that far away at all. To do it is obviously tough. Those guys are tall orders, but I don’t think that difference is that big. The belief factor just needs to be there.”

Long one of the tour’s most gifted athletes, Tiafoe is also an underrated tactician; one of the game’s most clever on-court thinkers. Who knows? A new career path might be awaiting him down the road.

“The only thing that’s been on a tennis court longer is probably a net post,” he joked. “I’ve been around a tennis court so much and I love the game. I definitely have a good eye for it. Some of the things I do may look dumb, but if it’s executed properly, it’s genius. It’s a fine line, but I’m blessed by that. Hopefully, those guys need a coach later in their career when I’m done.”

For the second straight year, Tiafoe finds himself matched against Dane Holger Rune, this time in Round 4. The journey continues.