Francis Tiafoe and New York City sports fans fell in love during the U.S. Open. But like the New York Knicks, Tiafoe ran out of gas before the finals.
Taylor Fritz defeated Tiafoe Friday night in an all-American U.S. Open semifinal. Tiafoe took two of the first three sets, but faltered, dropping the fourth set and losing all his service games in a 6-1 final-set drubbing.
Tiafoe, who was ranked No. 20 going into the tournament, won the hearts of the NYC crowd by wearing Knicks jerseys before each of his matches. Last week, he wore a Jalen Brunson jersey to his match in the round of 64, calling him “the man.”
Later he sported the jerseys of Julius Randle, and before the semifinal, Carmelo Anthony, who like Tiafoe is from Maryland.
But like the injury-riddled Knicks, who lost in the second round of the NBA playoffs to the Indiana Pacers, Tiafoe wore down. Fritz got a slight edge in a fourth set full of long rallies, then broke Tiafoe’s serve to even the match. Tiafoe didn’t win a service game the rest of the way.
Perhaps Tiafoe was emulating his favorite basketball team too much, or perhaps he needs to start training with Josh Hart. Or perhaps, like the Knicks, the 26-year-old Tiafoe is just entering his prime as a title contender. He’s also now a rival of Australian Nick Kyrgios, a die-hard fan of the Boston Celtics. Kyrgios, working as a commentator as he recovers from injuries, took a tongue-in-cheek shot at Tiafoe’s jersey choices.
Tiafoe may have fallen short, but that only makes him more relatable to New York sports fans, who haven’t had a major sports championship in a dozen years. The Knicks and Tiafoe both have a bright future, even if they haven’t proved they can win the big one yet.
