Tiafoe has beemn figured out

fecund345

Semi-Pro
Francis is a phenomenal athlete with a big first serve and and a big forehand. His backhand is mostley defensive, but he has a good left hand that can generate beautiful angles off that side.

The problem with his first serve is that he does not hit his targets consistently. His forehand is a lethal weapon but his take back has hitch that makes it attackable which Dimitrov exposed to everyone on tour last year.

Francis gets better at targets and removes the hitch on his forehand which would allow him to take advantage of those beautiful backhand angles. Also cut down on using that baseline dropshot . If he makes these changes he is #10 or better in the rankings.
 

dkmura

Professional
No matter who you are or how good, the rest of the field will be trying to develop tactics and game plans to defeat you. Frances remains a work in progress and I think he can still change and adapt his game. It really depends on how his motivation and determination ebbs and flows, but it's way too early to say he's been "figured out".
 

bluetrain4

G.O.A.T.
Francis is a phenomenal athlete with a big first serve and and a big forehand. His backhand is mostley defensive, but he has a good left hand that can generate beautiful angles off that side.

The problem with his first serve is that he does not hit his targets consistently. His forehand is a lethal weapon but his take back has hitch that makes it attackable which Dimitrov exposed to everyone on tour last year.

Francis gets better at targets and removes the hitch on his forehand which would allow him to take advantage of those beautiful backhand angles. Also cut down on using that baseline dropshot . If he makes these changes he is #10 or better in the rankings.
Is he though? Obviously compared to the general population, but within the context of the top 100 players in the world? I'm not saying he's a bad athlete, but he's never struck me as "phenomenal" - as evidenced by things like speed, movement, "natural" power. Again, he's a good athlete, but I've never seen him as anything particularly special at the top levels of tennis.
 

DSH

Talk Tennis Guru
Francis is a phenomenal athlete with a big first serve and and a big forehand. His backhand is mostley defensive, but he has a good left hand that can generate beautiful angles off that side.

The problem with his first serve is that he does not hit his targets consistently. His forehand is a lethal weapon but his take back has hitch that makes it attackable which Dimitrov exposed to everyone on tour last year.

Francis gets better at targets and removes the hitch on his forehand which would allow him to take advantage of those beautiful backhand angles. Also cut down on using that baseline dropshot . If he makes these changes he is #10 or better in the rankings.
FAA has been figured out too.
(n)
 

dannyslicer

Semi-Pro
Tiafoe is one of those WWF wrestlers who always loses to the big star.

Sort of like the new Nishikori.
There's a term for that
Jobber: A wrestler who almost always loses. His primary function is to make his opponents look good.
 

Fabresque

Legend
Much of what you speak about is technical stuff. At this point his technique is more or less what it is, you’re not gonna change stuff like his backhand or forehand hitch.

He can make tactical adjustments, like his drop shot usage and how to attack smarter.
 

a10best

Legend
He’s just not really elite, and he never was. People just got stupidly hyped after he beat Crockeddal
Nadal has been upset more than the other GOATs. An old Nadal losing to Francis or old & injured losing to Fritz on hc was a false sign for their fans.
FT's exceeded my expectations by reaching top 10, now top 20.
 

travlerajm

Talk Tennis Guru
He sits out three months and starts trying it out at the challenger level it's could be fixed. But he will not because his sponsors. He will be out of the top 100 in a year and a half and may be forced to do it anyway.
He will bounce back next year.
 

nolefam_2024

Bionic Poster
He did. Beating an old, injured, and totally distracted Rafa at the USO in 22 really went to his head. That win was not as impressive as he thinks, and the media helped fuel that delusion for him by making it out to be more than it was.
Netflix show dedicated to Frances. That's why it's cancelled now. He doesn't have much to offer.
 

Olli Jokinen

Hall of Fame
Saw him get butchered by Musetti last year in Rome. His not that spectacular to look at live. Somehow pretty average footwork and below average backhand. First serve is fast, second serve just puts the ball in play. Forehand very error prone, looks weird. He's probably a really nice guy, though. But I suspect the sudden rise to fame has gotten to his head and caused him to focus less on the game and more on the glamour. With that said, I really don't enjoy watching him play, ugly strokes.
 
He sits out three months and starts trying it out at the challenger level it's could be fixed. But he will not because his sponsors. He will be out of the top 100 in a year and a half and may be forced to do it anyway.

I bet you $50 that at no point in 2024 or 2025 does Tiafoe drop out of the top 100 in the rankings. I'd bet you $25 that he doesn't drop out of the top 50 in that time.
 

NoleFam

Bionic Poster
He has technical flaws in his game but it was enough to get him into the top 10 and get him within one set of making a USO final. Pretty darn good if you ask me considering he's naturally not as talented as some other players. People are too critical on here when they don't even play tennis, and couldn't get close to taking a game off him. Seems to me he's in a slump, but if he gets back on track it should be enough to keep him in the top 20 for the next couple of years but easier said than done. Staying mentally and physically good enough to stay amongst the best players isn't easy. Look at Shapovalov. He's more talented but has done less than Tiafoe, and lost his focus and that's disappointing.
 

travlerajm

Talk Tennis Guru
He has technical flaws in his game but it was enough to get him into the top 10 and get him within one set of making a USO final. Pretty darn good if you ask me considering he's naturally not as talented as some other players. People are too critical on here when they don't even play tennis, and couldn't get close to taking a game off him. Seems to me he's in a slump, but if he gets back on track it should be enough to keep in the top 20 for the next couple of years but easier said than done. Staying mentally and physically good enough to stay amongst the best players isn't easy. Look at Shapovalov. He's more talented but has done less than Tiafoe, and lost his focus and that's disappointing.
Shapo may be more talented, but his jumping showtime 1hb holding him back.
 

Purestriker

Legend
The Silverstone touch by Hamilton is one of the best content we can see on live tv. F1 is not that Boeing.
Yeah, I think it is more of a global watch than for us in the states. I love cars, grew up with a sports car and I would rather watch paint dry than watch a race or a story about a race.

I think they should do one on football (soccer).
 

am1899

Legend
I think it's too late for him to fix this stuff. He's about to exit his statistical physical prime and has really stagnated

Agreed, likely too late at this point.

Also, bizarre coaching change. Not surprisingly he is moving in the wrong direction.
 

Rosstour

G.O.A.T.
He did. Beating an old, injured, and totally distracted Rafa at the USO in 22 really went to his head. That win was not as impressive as he thinks, and the media helped fuel that delusion for him by making it out to be more than it was.

Beating Rafa is never not a big deal

The media calls him the toughest competitor the game has ever seen, a man who cares not for wins or losses but just the pure thrill of competition and leaving it all out there on the court every single time. And Team Nadal are happy to play into this, until of course he's injured.

So yeah that win was huge
 

dcweber

New User
Francis is a phenomenal athlete with a big first serve and and a big forehand. His backhand is mostley defensive, but he has a good left hand that can generate beautiful angles off that side.

The problem with his first serve is that he does not hit his targets consistently. His forehand is a lethal weapon but his take back has hitch that makes it attackable which Dimitrov exposed to everyone on tour last year.

Francis gets better at targets and removes the hitch on his forehand which would allow him to take advantage of those beautiful backhand angles. Also cut down on using that baseline dropshot . If he makes these changes he is #10 or better in the rankings.
Tiafoe only where he is now because woke USTA wet nursed him for years and ignored many other promising players because they weren't the right color. Disgusting
 
Beating Rafa is never not a big deal

The media calls him the toughest competitor the game has ever seen, a man who cares not for wins or losses but just the pure thrill of competition and leaving it all out there on the court every single time. And Team Nadal are happy to play into this, until of course he's injured.

So yeah that win was huge
He's still human. His pregnant wife was having complications back home and was in the hospital the entire time he played the USO in 2022. It was clear he was distracted, and he admitted he only stayed because she told him to, not because he wanted to. It's hardly like Tiafoe beat Rafa in his prime and firing on all cylinders. Then, it would have been a big deal, but not in 22.
 

Klatu Verata Necktie

Hall of Fame
Shapo may be more talented, but his jumping showtime 1hb holding him back.
I find Shapo far more dissapointing than Tiafoe. Shapo seems to have all the talent in the world and hasn't found the proper way to exploit it, whereas Tiafoe seems to have maximized his talents. As far as I'm concerned, he is an exciting player to watch and has had a very successful career that many players would envy.
 

Olli Jokinen

Hall of Fame
Yeah, I think it is more of a global watch than for us in the states. I love cars, grew up with a sports car and I would rather watch paint dry than watch a race or a story about a race.

I think they should do one on football (soccer).
There's a lot of football programmes out there already. Like tons. "Sunderland 'Til I Die" is probably the best.
 

Hitman

Bionic Poster
Beating Rafa is never not a big deal

The media calls him the toughest competitor the game has ever seen, a man who cares not for wins or losses but just the pure thrill of competition and leaving it all out there on the court every single time. And Team Nadal are happy to play into this, until of course he's injured.

So yeah that win was huge

Nadal was undefeated that year in the slams, his level wasn't good, but the win against a man who hadn't lost in slams was still massive, and it prevented slam 23 and basically opened the door for Djokovic to take the lead.
 

TheRed

Hall of Fame
Is he though? Obviously compared to the general population, but within the context of the top 100 players in the world? I'm not saying he's a bad athlete, but he's never struck me as "phenomenal" - as evidenced by things like speed, movement, "natural" power. Again, he's a good athlete, but I've never seen him as anything particularly special at the top levels of tennis.
"Great athlete," "phenomenal talent" - these words get thrown around a bit too easy on the forums. I agree. Tiafoe isn't phenomenal at anything in particular. It is phenomenal that he has those strokes and yet plays so well. What he does have is a pretty balanced game. He's good at most things, including serve, groundstrokes, volleys and he even has decent touch. But that also means he doesn't have that one particular weapon like a serve or massive forehand that can help him win points easily no matter the day. I remember posters calling Tomic talented. All he had were weird trick shots. That guy was slow, no power, well below average serve for his height and a headcase.
 

Break To Win

Semi-Pro
He was never good enough to be TOP 10. Somehow, he got there. But it was his peak. I always thought he was a kind of talentless Monfils
 

CHillTennis

Hall of Fame
Tiafoe is one of those WWF wrestlers who always loses to the big star.

Sort of like the new Nishikori.
There's a term for that
Jobber: A wrestler who almost always loses. His primary function is to make his opponents look good.
Didn't Nishikori make a grand slam final? And he beat Djokovic along the way to reaching that final.
 

CHillTennis

Hall of Fame
Nadal was undefeated that year in the slams, his level wasn't good, but the win against a man who hadn't lost in slams was still massive, and it prevented slam 23 and basically opened the door for Djokovic to take the lead.
No. Carlos would have beaten Nadal in the final that year.
 
Top