Frances Tiafoe

[Barty]

In the final match of the day, #NextGenATP American Frances Tiafoe, who has qualified for the Next Gen ATP Finals in Milan, beat Nicolas Mahut 7-6(1), 6-2 and will next meet Germany's Alexander Zverev.

https://www.atpworldtour.com/en/news/kh ... 018-monday

[Żilu]

Tiafoe For Mayor: Affable American Finds His Focus In 2018

Spoiler:

American is the third seed at the Next Gen ATP Finals
Frances Tiafoe is a bit too busy to be launching any political campaigns. But when the 20-year-old, who's making his Next Gen ATP Finals debut this week, finds the time and energy to devote to politics, one of the people who knows him best thinks Tiafoe might be a natural for the field.

Nearly three years ago, when trainer Paul Kinney started working with Tiafoe, the teen-aged American was playing ATP Challenger Tour events. Tiafoe's outgoing and laid-back personality endeared him to nearly everyone – players, officials and organisers – at every tournament.

Kinney remembers Tiafoe's morning routine as follows: First, he'd set his bags of gear down at a table to eat breakfast, but then he'd see someone he knew and stroll over to them to talk, then there was someone else and someone else and someone else and someone else. Twenty minutes later, Tiafoe was left scanning the room, trying to remember where he rested his racquets.

Kinney called him “The Mayor.” “You're meeting with all of your constituents,” Kinney joked.

Tiafoe is still as outgoing and energetic as ever, but this year the affable right-hander has found a way to balance the jokes with the work and have his best year yet.

Before 2018, he was 9-29 in tour-level matches. Too often, he'd get close to the end line but fall short. He was 4-13 in deciding sets.

But Tiafoe enters the Next Gen ATP Finals, which starts Tuesday, with a 26-23 record this year, including 11-8 in deciding sets.

“I had a ton of tight matches with a lot of guys, but I always took the short end of the stick. Now I'm beating these guys,” said Tiafoe, who used to play defensively during big moments late in matches. “Now I'm feeling really comfortable when it gets tight. I actually embrace it, I want it... Now I just take it. If I'm going to lose that way, that's fine.”

The on-court change stems from an overall new mindset that Tiafoe has carried with him this year. His coaches and Kinney all say that the right-hander is taking more ownership of his career and applying what he's learned from his first two years on tour.

His coaches see it in the way he pays more attention to details in planning meetings, such as when they discuss upcoming goals or practice agendas.

“He's asking more questions about his tennis, he's trying to prepare a little bit better than he used to,” coach Robby Ginepri told ATPWorldTour.com. “Before, he would just show up and just thought he had to hit a yellow tennis ball and whatever happened, happened.”

Tiafoe said: “I think I'm just holding myself way more accountable, just really believing.”

The accountability extends to his work with Kinney as well. Besides his daily town hall meetings as “The Mayor”, Kinney remembers Tiafoe as a teenager with few, if any, routines.

Even the way Tiafoe dressed himself in the morning changed from day to day. “Shoes, shorts, shirt. Sometimes it was shirt, shoes, shorts... Everything was just kind of, 'I'm going to throw on whatever I'm thinking',” Kinney told ATPWorldTour.com. “The one routine that he had that was consistent wasn't his alone: When you wake up in the morning the first thing you do is roll over and grab your phone.”

That routine is why, in the beginning of their partnership, Kinney had to take Tiafoe's phone away from him for an hour so they could get their work done. “Those people writing you, they aren't going anywhere. Those text messages aren't going to get deleted,” Kinney would say.

But slowly, Tiafoe has matured, and Kinney has helped him establish routines that have led to another injury-free year, despite the fact that Tiafoe more than doubled the amount of tour-level matches he played, from 2017 to 2018 (24 to 49).

“The best part is his trainer Paul Kinney has kept him healthy all year, and he's been able to play a long, full season,” Ginepri said.

Tiafoe thought his long 2017 campaign would also finish in Milan. Zack Evenden, Tiafoe's assistant coach and hitting partner, said the group thought it was a given Tiafoe would be among the world's best 21-and-under players at the Fiera Milano during the inaugural event.

But Tiafoe finished 110 points behind final qualifier Daniil Medvedev of Russia. So this year, Tiafoe and his coaches wanted to leave no doubt.

Read & Watch: 5 Things To Know About Tiafoe

“We didn't want to cut it close; we didn't even want to think about it,” Evenden told ATPWorldTour.com. “We knew we were going to be in Milan by the end of the season.”

Ginepri views the event as another folder in Tiafoe's growing portfolio of experiences, a binder that may one day include a trip to the season-ending Nitto ATP Finals, where the top eight players in the world compete for the season's final title.

“[In Milan,] you get a chance to see what it's like to play late in the season, like at the Nitto ATP Finals, where ultimately these guys want to play in their career,” Ginepri said.

The coach, however, isn't expecting Tiafoe to take advantage of one of the tournament's key innovations – the availability of mid-match coaching at the end of each set.

The maturing Tiafoe, Ginepri said, can usually problem solve well on his own, as he's shown throughout the best year of his career.

“He might not even utilise me to be honest,” Ginepri said. “He feels his way around the court pretty well.”

https://www.atpworldtour.com/en/news/ti ... le-feature

[Damian]

Frances Tiafoe

The American is 11th on the ATP World Tour in break points saved fending off 65 per cent of his opponents’ opportunities. Tiafoe has improved in that category significantly in 2018, having saved just 52 per cent of the break points he faced in 2017.

ATP Ranking To Begin 2018 --> Highest ATP Ranking In 2018: 79--> 38

https://www.atpworldtour.com/en/news/ne ... he-numbers

[Del Fed]

[Żilu]

Finały Next Gen ATP: porażka Huberta Hurkacza na otwarcie. Frances Tiafoe za mocny

Spoiler:

W pierwszym meczu w Finałach Next Gen ATP Hubert Hurkacz zmierzył się z Francesem Tiafoe, z którym latem przegrał w Waszyngtonie. W lutym w Delray Beach Amerykanin zdobył pierwszy tytuł w głównym cyklu. Polak w tym roku w challengerach ATP święcił największe triumfy w dotychczasowej karierze (Poznań, Brest). Tiafoe zwyciężył Hurkacza 4:1, 4:2, 2:4, 4:3(10).
Świetna kombinacja głębokiego returnu i smecza dała Tiafoe break pointa na 3:1. Hurkacz oddał podanie pakując bekhend w siatkę. Wcześniej dobrze funkcjonował forhend Polaka, który również dobrze radził sobie przy siatce. Moment zawahania sprawił, że Hurkacz przegrał I partię. Miał szanse na odrobienie straty, ale rywal szybko pozbawił go złudzeń. Wygrywającym serwisem Amerykanin zniwelował break pointa przy 30-40, a asem zakończył I seta.

W II partii obaj tenisiści zaprezentowali kilka świetnych przejść z defensywy do ataku. Najważniejsze punkty padły ponownie łupem Tiafoe, który był solidniejszy z głębi kortu i przy siatce oraz lepiej wykorzystywał geometrię kortu. Hurkaczowi coraz częściej brakowało cierpliwości. Po bekhendowym błędzie Polaka Amerykanin zdobył przełamanie do zera na 3:2. Asem tenisista z Orlando uzyskał cztery piłki setowe. Wykorzystał już pierwszą odwrotnym krosem forhendowym wymuszającym błąd.

W gemie otwarcia III seta Hurkacz odparł dwa break pointy przy 15-40, a decydujący punkt padł jego łupem po błędzie bekhendowym rywala. To dodało mu animuszu i zaczął cierpliwiej pracować w wymianach. Dużo lepiej funkcjonował jego forhend, a bekhend również dał mu kilka cennych punktów. Polak miał okazje na przełamanie w drugim i czwartym gemie, ale Tiafoe obronił się skutecznymi atakami przy siatce. Przy 2:2 w opałach znalazł się Hurkacz, ale dobrze skonstruowane ofensywne akcje pozwoliły mu zniwelować dwa break pointy. Skuteczny w końcówce wrocławianin dopiął swego i wynik seta na 4:2 ustalił bekhendem po linii.]

W czwartym gemie IV seta Tiafoe odparł break pointa, a w piątym Hurkacz od 0-30 zdobył cztery punkty. Więcej problemów serwujący nie mieli i przy 3:3 został rozegrany tie break, który był najbardziej emocjonującym fragmentem meczu. W nim Polak uzyskał małe przełamanie głębokim krosem forhendowym, ale szybko je stracił za sprawą podwójnego błędu. Wrocławianin obronił trzy piłki meczowe (dwa wygrywające serwisy, odwrotny kros forhendowy), a sam nie wykorzystał dwóch setowych. Przy 10-10 popełnił podwójny błąd. Mecz Tiafoe zakończył forhendem.
W trwającym 82 minuty meczu Tiafoe zaserwował 11 asów, o dwa więcej niż Hurkacz. Polak popełnił cztery podwójne błędy, z czego dwa w tie break czwartego seta. Amerykanin obronił sześć z siedmiu break pointów, a sam wykorzystał dwie z siedmiu szans na przełamanie.

We wtorek w Mediolanie rozpoczęła się druga edycja Finałów Next Gen ATP. Jest to turniej przeznaczony dla najlepszych tenisistów do 21. roku życia. Zasady tego turnieju są inne od tych, znanych z zawodowego tenisa (m.in. sety do czterech gemów, tie break przy 3:3, decydujący punkt przy 40-40). W Grupie A, oprócz Hurkacza i Tiafoe, znajdują się Jaume Munar i Stefanos Tsitsipas.

Finały Next Gen ATP, Mediolan (Włochy)
kort twardy w hali, pula nagród 1,335 mln dolarów
wtorek, 6 listopada

Grupa A:

Frances Tiafoe (USA, 3) - Hubert Hurkacz (Polska, 6) 4:1, 4:2, 2:4, 4:3(10)

https://sportowefakty.wp.pl/tenis/78701 ... e-za-mocny

[arti]

Big Foe Earns Big Win Against Hurkacz

Spoiler:

American joins Tsitsipas at 1-0 in Group A

Frances Tiafoe missed direct qualification for the 2017 Next Gen ATP Finals by one spot. Not being able to compete stung, motivating him to book his spot in Milan. And now that the American is at the Fiera Milano, he is taking advantage of the opportunity.

Tiafoe defeated Polish No. 1 Hubert Hurkacz 4-1, 4-2, 2-4, 4-3(10) to move to 1-0 in Group A play. The 20-year-old saved six of the seven break points he faced en route to his one-hour, 22-minute triumph.

“The tie-break was very interesting. He just kept coming with heat. He had no nerves. I’m happy for him, he’s had a great year. He was pretty low-ranked, he got into the Top 100, he snuck in here winning [the] Brest [Challenger]. I played him earlier this year, I knew it was going to be tough and I came out playing well.”

Early on, Tiafoe appeared to be in control, cruising through the first two sets without getting broken. Hurkacz on the other hand only managed to win 47 per cent (7/15) of his first-serve points through those first two sets, with three of those points coming on aces.

So after losing the second set, Hurkacz spoke through his headset to his coach, Rene Moller, trying to figure out how he could battle his way back into the match.

“Hey man, you’re competing, just keep working and you’ve got to try to be a little more aggressive here,” Moller said. “You’ve got to be willing to gamble a little bit if you want to take this title, so let’s red-line it here for the next three sets.”

That strategy paid off, as Hurkacz took the third set and would even earn two set points in the fourth-set tie-break. But Tiafoe found a way to battle through the 22-point tie-break and avoid going to a deciding set.

“He was coming up with the goods so I had to really step it up,” Tiafoe said. “Luckily I did.”

https://www.atpworldtour.com/en/news/ti ... uesday-atp

[Barty]

[Żilu]

[Barty]

Frances Tiafoe z sympatią o Hubercie Hurkaczu. "Cieszę się z tego, że miał wspaniały rok"

Spoiler:

- Cieszę się z tego, że miał wspaniały rok. Był dość nisko w rankingu, ale awansował do czołowej "100" - powiedział o Hubercie Hurkaczu Frances Tiafoe, który pokonał Polaka w meczu pierwszej kolejki Finałów Next Gen ATP.

Marcin Motyka
07 Listopada 2018, 08:20
Udostępnij 19 Tweetnij Skomentuj 0

Getty Images / Julian Finney / Na zdjęciu: Hubert Hurkacz
Wejdź na TYPER.WP.PL, twórz własne ligi i typuj wyniki meczów!



Finały Next Gen ATP: porażka Huberta Hurkacza na otwarcie. Frances Tiafoe za mocny
We wtorek, w meczu pierwszej kolejki Grupy A Finałów Next Gen ATP 2018, Frances Tiafoe pokonał 4:1, 4:2, 2:4, 4:3(10) Huberta Hurkacza . - On z każdą chwilą grał coraz lepiej, więc musiałem temu sprostać. Na szczęście to zrobiłem - mówił Amerykanin.
20-latek z Orlando ocenił, że kluczowy dla losów spotkania był tie break czwartej partii, w którym obronił dwa setbole, by wykorzystać czwartą piłkę meczową. - To była interesująca rozgrywka. On był w ogniu i nie widziałem po nim nerwów.

Po pojedynku Amerykanin z sympatią wyraził się o Polaku. - Cieszę się z tego, że miał wspaniały rok. Był dość nisko w rankingu, ale awansował do czołowej "100", a wygrywając challengera w Breście, dostał się do Finałów Next Gen. Rywalizowałem z nim wcześniej i wiedziałem, że będzie trudno, ale wyszedłem na kort i zagrałem dobrze.

Kolejne mecze w Mediolanie obaj rozegrają w środę. Tiafoe zmierzy się ze Stefanosem Tsitsipasem, natomiast Hurkacz zagra z Jaume Munarem.

https://sportowefakty.wp.pl/tenis/78706 ... l-wspanial

[arti]

Fritz & Tiafoe Leading American #NextGenATP Charge

Spoiler:

Frances Tiafoe and Taylor Fritz have both had breakthrough seasons on the ATP World Tour in 2018, qualifying for the prestigious Next Gen ATP Finals. They are also on track to finish the year inside the Top 50 of the ATP Rankings for the first time. The last time two Americans aged 21 and under have done that came 15 years ago, when Andy Roddick, Mardy Fish and Tiafoe’s coach, Robby Ginepri, accomplished the feat.

That’s a massive achievement, and for more than the reason you’d expect.

“When I was 14, 15, if you would’ve asked me if Taylor would play tennis, I would not have believed it,” Tiafoe joked.

To an extent, even Fritz thought along the same lines. Tiafoe lost just three games against Fritz in a junior final in Tulsa, Oklahoma five years ago, after all. Fritz, the son of Kathy May Fritz, who reached the Top 10 in the world, went to regular high school in California at first.

“I always thought I was probably much better than I actually was when I was at that age, like, 14, 15 years old,” Fritz said.

Then he moved to Florida to train at a USTA facility. And that’s when he saw that there were players his age who could not only match him, but beat him.

“That's when I realised that, wow, if I actually wanted to be a pro, I'm going to have to be better than those guys. And so I really went to work, and I had those guys to build off,” Fritz said. “I just worked really, really hard. And, they will all tell you Tommy [Paul], Reilly [Opelka], [Stefan] Kozlov, Frances, I wasn't even close to being in the same league as those guys.

“It's crazy, I guess, looking back now at where I am now and all the things I expect of myself now, and back then it seemed so far. All of this that I'm doing right now just seemed impossible.”

In a way, Tiafoe’s rise was not all that likely, either. The story has been told plenty — growing up in Maryland, Tiafoe spent much of his time at the Junior Tennis Champions Center in College Park, where his father was a janitor. He’d wander the facility as a young boy, watching players train while trying to understand their coach’s tips, then going to hit against the wall daily to try to learn the sport.

And now, Tiafoe is someone who other kids are looking up to. The 20-year-old became the youngest American ATP World Tour champion in more than a decade earlier this year at the Delray Beach Open.

Tiafoe’s coach, Ginepri, has been in his shoes, and in a sense, has been where his charge wants to be, climbing as high as No. 15 in the ATP Rankings and lifting three tour-level titles.

“It kind of comes back full circle in a way. I try to coach Frances with a lot of experiences from when I played, the do’s and the don’ts. But it’s just been a lot of fun working with him,” Ginepri said. “He comes every day with a smile on his face and works pretty hard, so he’s been improving. It’s been a great year for him. He’s the second-youngest after Andy [Roddick] to win his first title, in Delray. So it’s a good shadow to follow. He’s got a big upside career in front of him if he keeps putting in the work.”

And Ginepri also knows what it feels like to be moving towards the top of the game with other compatriots. Roddick finished that 2003 season World No. 1, and Fish would eventually reach the Top 10, too. They pushed each other to greater heights.

“Frances kind of pulled out in front of Taylor a little bit this year, but Taylor’s right behind,” Ginepri said of the pair, as the friends are now separated by just seven spots. “He’s had some injuries, some setbacks, but his game’s just as good as Frances’ so they’re going to be neck and neck and hopefully we’ll get a few more Americans up there.”

Last year, for instance, Jared Donaldson qualified for the Next Gen ATP Finals. There are currently eight Americans 23 and under inside the Top 200 of the ATP Rankings. And they’re all pushing each other forward.

And it hasn’t always been easy. Fritz, currently at a career-best World No. 47, climbed as high as No. 53 in 2016, when he was named the ATP Star of Tomorrow presented by Emirates. Injuries then slowed his progress and forced him outside the Top 100 before building back up again.

Fritz’s coach, David Nainkin, says that inevitably, friends know how one another is performing. And when one does well, the other sees that.

“It’s great to see Frances break out and win an [ATP World Tour] 250 in Delray,” Nainkin said. “They’re definitely great friends, but great rivals. They want to see each other do better, which will certainly push them.”

While Tiafoe is in Group A and Fritz is in Group B in Milan, both still have opportunities to reach the semi-finals, as they each hold a 1-1 record in round-robin play. And while the Americans hope to fly their flag high the rest of the week at the Fiera Milano, they know that there is still more to come for them in the future.

“Hopefully me and Taylor don’t get complacent,” Tiafoe said. “I think there’s way more me and him can do. I’m going to be pushing him.”

https://www.atpworldtour.com/en/news/fr ... -americans

[arti]

2018 w liczbach:

Ranking: 39
Bilans meczów: 28-26
Tytuły: 1 (Delray Beach)
Finały: 1 (Estoril)
Zarobki: $1,026,059

[Żilu]

Frances Tiafoe - Delray Beach [First-Time Winner Spotlight]

After defeating Juan Martin del Potro, Hyeon Chung and Denis Shapovalov en route to the final, wild card Frances Tiafoe coasted to his first ATP World Tour title in Delray Beach. The Maryland native beat Peter Gojowczyk of Germany 6-1, 6-4 to become the youngest American to win an ATP World Tour title since 19-year-old Andy Roddick at 2002 Houston.

Before his appearance at the New York Open the previous week, Tiafoe had won nine tour-level matches (9-31) and had never reached a tour-level quarter-final. But after reaching the last eight in New York (l. to Anderson) and triumphing in Delray Beach, Tiafoe almost doubled his tour-level win count (16) in two weeks.

“It's unbelievable. It's obviously a dream to win your first title," said Tiafoe. "Now I have got that off my back, so that feels pretty good so early in my career. It's an amazing feeling and I just hope I can get many more as I go along.”

https://www.atptour.com/en/news/first-t ... art-1-2018

[Lleyton]

4. Frances Tiafoe wins maiden tour-level title at the Delray Beach Open

Spoiler:

Frances Tiafoe grew up idolising Juan Martin del Potro. The Argentine was the first player to sign a ball for Tiafoe when he was a boy attending the Citi Open in Washington, D.C.

But at the Delray Beach Open in February, Tiafoe blocked all of that aside and upset the second seed en route to the best week of his career. Tiafoe beat Aussie Matthew Ebden, Del Potro, 2017 Next Gen ATP Finals champion Hyeon Chung, Shapovalov and Germany's Peter Gojowczyk to win his maiden ATP World Tour title.

And to think, the American almost didn't even have a spot at the ATP World Tour 250-level event. Tiafoe forgot to sign up by the entry deadline, but the tournament gave him a wild card, and both parties were pleased they did. Tiafoe went onto make his debut at the Next Gen ATP Finals and finish at a personal year-end best No. 39 in the ATP Rankings.

https://www.atptour.com/en/news/five-be ... ments-2018

[Lleyton]

[DUN I LOVE]

Frances wygrał w nocy swój 2. mecz w swojej dotychczasowej karierze na AO. W spotkaniu z Gunneswaranem zagrał 29 winnerów, wygrywając 3-0 w setach po godzinie i 52 minutach.

[Lleyton]

II runda AO19:

34 Jérémy Chardy 1120
35 Frances Tiafoe 1115
36 John Millman 1073

[DUN I LOVE]

No i jest kolejny krok, Kevin Anderson (numer 6 rankingu) pokonany w II rundzie AO19!

Ten sukces oznacza awans na 34. miejsce w wirtualnym rankingu Entry.

[arti]

Not This Time: Tiafoe Roars Back Against Anderson

Spoiler:

Frances Tiafoe had seen this routine before from Kevin Anderson. The South African beat the #NextGenATP American three times last season, and on Wednesday at the Australian Open, the fifth seed looked well on his way to improving to 4-0 in their FedEx ATP Head2Head series.

Anderson led 6-4, 3-0 before, in Tiafoe's words, the American “just went to a different place.”

“I dug insanely deep... It's all about competing. Guys are so good, it's just how bad do you really want it? I wanted it real bad,” Tiafoe said.

The 20-year-old captured the biggest win of his career by ATP Ranking, beating the World No. 6 4-6, 6-4, 6-4, 7-5.



You May Also Like: Tsitsipas Achieves Best Result Yet In Melbourne


Anderson, who received treatment on his right elbow after the third set, served to go up 6-5 in the fourth, but he double faulted on break point. In the following game, Tiafoe recovered from a 15/40 deficit to reach the third round at a Grand Slam for the second time (2018 Wimbledon) and first in Melbourne.

The American served and volleyed on match point, the 27th time he approached the net, winning nearly 80 per cent of those trips (21/27). “It means the world to me,” Tiafoe said.

The 2018 Next Gen ATP Finals qualifier will next face Italy's Andreas Seppi, who nearly doubled his winner to unforced error count (38 to 20) and beat Aussie Jordan Thompson 6-3, 6-4, 6-4.

Seppi made the Sydney International final last week before falling to #NextGenATP Aussie Alex de Minaur.

https://www.atptour.com/en/news/tiafoe- ... -wednesday

[Damian]

Pierwszy raz w III rundzie AO #AO19

Frances Tiafoe (USA) d. [5] Kevin Anderson (RSA) 4-6 6-4 6-4 7-5 Statystyki meczu

[arti]