By Chris Oddo | @TheFanChild | Sunday July 9, 2023
Frances Tiafoe, newly anointed member of the ATP’s Top 10, expects a lot from himself at the Grand Slams. That’s why he was bitterly disappointed with his performance this weekend, as he feel in straight sets to Grigor Dimitrov across Saturday and Sunday (the match was suspended due to rain on Saturday), 6-2, 6-3, 6-2.
Talking up his chances as a player that could go all the way, Tiafoe was quick to critique his performance on Sunday after his third-round loss.
“I’m Top 10 in the word, I played like I didn’t have an ATP point,” he said, according to TennisMajors.com . “It hurts man, I don’t really know what to add.”
Tiafoe, who raised the bar for himself by reaching the US Open semifinals last September, and winning his first grass-court title in Stuttgart earlier this summer, called his own tennis “a disaster.”
“I had a great season so far,” the 25-year-old said. “In the Slams I had a second week look so it’s sad. I played horrendous today, a disaster today.”
It has been a tough Wimbledon for the American men – of the 13 that made the main draw, only Chris Eubanks has reached the round of 16. No.9-seeded Taylor Fritz blew a two sets to love lead against Sweden’s Mikael Ymer in the second round, while 16th-seeded Tommy Paul fell to Jiri Lehecka in five in the third round. Sebastian Korda, Ben Shelton and JJ Wolf also didn’t make the mark.
For his part, Tiafoe says that the pressure of being a Top 10 player did not play a role in his loss.
“I’m already winning in life,” he said. “It doesn’t really matter. I want to win a Grand Slam for me. Not for you, not for the media. It’s just a bad performance today.
Not much to say, I’m pretty down. Tough to understand. I have to deal with that. In tennis you got to have short memories, I’ve got to continue and see how I can bounce back.”