By Chris Oddo | Sunday February 25, 2018
20-year-old Frances Tiafoe rolled past Peter Gojowczyk on Sunday to claim his first ATP title.
Photo Source: AP/Joe Skipper
The dream became the reality for 20-year-old Frances Tiafoe this week in Delray Beach.
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Tiafoe finished off an eye-opening week at the Delray Beach Open with a 6-1, 6-4 victory over Germany’s Peter Gojowczyk. The 28-year-old carried a record of 14 consecutive wins against American opponents on Sunday, 8 of which had come at the tour level.
Not anymore.
The victory was about more than a streak-snapping notch in the win column for Tiafoe, however.
“If you asked me when I was younger if I was going to be here at 20 years old, winning a title, being in a position to not only help myself but also to help my family—help funding everyone—it’s an unbelievable place to be,” Tiafoe said after the match when asked how his journey had shaped him.
Tiafoe is a first-generation American whose parents moved to the States from Sierra Leone. Afterwards the father (Frances Sr.) and son shared a heartfelt moment on court that was poignant for both. Tiafoe’s father worked at College Park’s Junior Tennis Champion’s Center as a maintenance man, and that is where Frances developed his love for the sport as a young child.
With his win, Tiafoe becomes the youngest American to win an ATP title since Andy Roddick won Houston at the age of 19 in 2002
Tiafoe controlled the match from start to finish, cracking 13 aces and winning 24 of 27 first serve points to complete a rise from 90 to 61 in the ATP rankings.
His biggest triumphs rankings-wise came earlier in the week when he upset second-seeded Juan Martin del Potro for his second career Top 10 win, then defeated fellow #NextGenATP start Hyeon Chung and Denis Shapovalov in succession to reach the final.
If he was nervous earlier in the week when he needed eight match points to get past Chung in a dicey quarterfinal match that was held overnight due to rain, he was over it by Sunday. Tiafoe seemed to have his nerves sorted and only got stronger as the match wore on.
After the match was a different story.
“I had a couple tears,” said Tiafoe after the match.