Tiafoe is not good.

Really disappointed thus far. Showed a bit of brilliance towards end of 1st set but other than that it’s a one-man show
 
Mentally the ‘Next Gen’ men need help with the mental and emotional aspects of the game. Calling Tony Robbins!
 
Hes made a Grand Slam QF at 21. He did it before Shapo( he is only a yr older) and borna coric who both just made it now in a weak field.

He beat Anderson and Grigor to make the QF so it wasn’t exactly lucky draw either. yeah he looked terrible vs DM but he potentially has his best tennis ahead of him.
 
When he’s on he can produce some fantastic tennis (like this tournament v Millman and destroying an inform Fucsovics) but the mental fortitude when things don’t go his way is embarrassing.

What makes a great player, great, is not only how well he can play tennis, but also how they can adapt to the current situation and climate of the match. Tiafoe had no plan B, no second course of action, no way to adapt to the relentless ball machine he’s playing against.

It’s been well established that bar Djokovic, Medvedev is the games best defensive player. In fact his whole game is centered on frustrating you, making you feel as if you have a chance since he doesn’t hit massive, nor does he go for winners. He stands farther back than Nadal at the baseline and just makes balls. Tiafoe should know this, he’s played him before. His way of handling it should’ve been to carefully select his shots, take Medvedev out of his comfort zone (ie drag him to the net) and be unpredictable to break the baseline rhythm.

He did none of that, instead he just decided over and over again he’s going to try and out-rally him, which is hard for Djokovic and Nadal to do, let alone Tiafoe.

What’s probably worse, though, was the mental fortitude. What a sick joke, a professional tennis player losing that badly? The second and third sets were absolutely pathetic performances for someone who’s been on tour for a few years now and has been in big stages before. Instead of trying something new, trying to figure out a way to beat him, he just kinda sulks and gives up. Just laughable.

I’m sorry but this was actually so disappointing for me. Tiafoe has played great this whole tournament and he couldn’t even turn up in one of the biggest matches of his life.
 
PeoplesChamp said:
Never expected him to win or anything, but it's dissapointing as an American to see that crap in the primetime slot. Show some heart out there even if you're overmatched is my philosophy.
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In the 2nd set, DM was leading 4-0 while missing all of his first serve. Tiafoe is an embarrassment to American tennis. Show us you are a champion with your fighting spirit instead of folding like a cheap suit.

It reminded me about the volley Tiafoe hit at CitiOpen against DM that he thought was a winner and gave up after the play. DM ran it down and hit a winner. I was there at the match in person and saw it with my own eye.

They should take away 50% of his USOpen winning money for not even trying.
 
Actually, I thought he was doing well... until this match. I don't understand it. It seemed like he just wasn't interested in going to war and fighting til the last point. Medvedev was getting most everything back so I can see getting frustrated.
He's faster, taller, and hits harder or as hard.
 
citybert said:
Hes made a Grand Slam QF at 21. He did it before Shapo( he is only a yr older) and borna coric who both just made it now in a weak field.

He beat Anderson and Grigor to make the QF so it wasn’t exactly lucky draw either. yeah he looked terrible vs DM but he potentially has his best tennis ahead of him.
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Coric is only a year older than Tiafoe but with a much better resume than Tiafoe. Coric won an ATP 500 title by beating Fed on grass at Hale and made it to she SF of Indian Wells. Coric also advanced to the 4R of grand slams twice.

I don't care that Tiafoe lost to DM. It is the effort he showed in the match that really bothered me. The idiots James Blake and Brad Gilbert just hyped him that he is capable of taking out DM. Ofcourse, this is the ATP and anyone can be beaten on any night but it didn't happen last night and Tiafoe got a spanking by DM.
 
jarko111 said:
Actually, I thought he was doing well... until this match. I don't understand it. It seemed like he just wasn't interested in going to war and fighting til the last point. Medvedev was getting most everything back so I can see getting frustrated. He's faster, taller, and hits harder or as hard.
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DM played amazingly both on the defense and offense side of the ball.
 
bobleenov1963 said:
Coric is only a year older than Tiafoe but with a much better resume than Tiafoe. Coric won an ATP 500 title by beating Fed on grass at Hale and made it to she SF of Indian Wells. Coric also advanced to the 4R of grand slams twice.

I don't care that Tiafoe lost to DM. It is the effort he showed in the match that really bothered me. The idiots James Blake and Brad Gilbert just hyped him that he is capable of taking out DM. Ofcourse, this is the ATP and anyone can be beaten on any night but it didn't happen last night and Tiafoe got a spanking by DM.
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Agree just trying to say Tiafoe is not absolute trash. Also vs DM I didnt see the presser but its possible he could have been hurt or maybe personal issues. Hard to say these days not sure what people are going thru at the moment not everyone is public and difficult to judge on one match.
 
citybert said:
Agree just trying to say Tiafoe is not absolute trash. Also vs DM I didnt see the presser but its possible he could have been hurt or maybe personal issues. Hard to say these days not sure what people are going thru at the moment not everyone is public and difficult to judge on one match.
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Is it possible? It is. Is like likely? Not very likely.

Even if that is true, the minute he stepped on the tennis court, he has to give his absolute best, going down fighting by giving his absolutely best that day. That's what champion does. He should have defaulted before the match if he was hurt or had personal issues.

I saw the match from the beginning to the end, didn't see any of that from him. McEnroe call Tiafoe effort "unacceptable"
 
If he simplified his forehand takeback I think he would get into a lot more points. Medvedev exposed this. It is so clunky and unnecessary and his insistence on forcing the motion often ends up with shanked forehands or very weak shots.

Khachanov has a very similar forehand grip and unorthodox takeback but his motion is more fluid and he has better timing and torso rotation...
 
4e54h8.jpg


Replace this with Tiafoe meme. @The Blond Blur
 
Tiafoe learned to play tennis against a wall, imitating the kids on court who were getting lessons, and it shows, lol.

He is a great athletic specimen, quick and explosive, and he has some decent touch and playfulness as well.

But that technique is just too home-cooked and it looks like it's always going to hold him back. Not a consistent enough ballstriker.
 
Sysyphus said:
Tiafoe learned to play tennis against a wall, imitating the kids on court who were getting lessons, and it shows, lol.

He is a great athletic specimen, quick and explosive, and he has some decent touch and playfulness as well.

But that technique is just too home-cooked and it looks like it's always going to hold him back. Not a consistent enough ballstriker.
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You're such a clown. Tiafoe lived and trained as a kid at JTCC in college park Maryland for free. His training was covered by full pay students there.
 
bobleenov1963 said:
You're such a clown. Tiafoe lived and trained as a kid at JTCC in college park Maryland for free. His training was covered by full pay students there.
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Alright boomer

I'm only relaying what was reported in NY Mag:

It turns out that for the first half-dozen years of his tennis life, at least, Tiafoe was on his own. He got up, grabbed whatever racquet he felt like borrowing that morning from the pro shop, and wandered the grounds. He stood on the sidelines as other kids got lessons. He watched matches on the TV in the lounge, which was always set to the Tennis Channel, and tried out what he observed on the concrete wall just outside the gym, where, according to teachers and former students, Tiafoe routinely spent six to eight hours rallying with himself, devising an endless series of games and drills and challenges to stave off boredom. In the evening, when the paying and scholarship students went home, he set up camp on an empty court and hit serves, and in between, according to Frank Salazar, who coaches the academy’s elite players, “he would play anyone with a pulse.”

“In the beginning stages,” says Tiafoe, “I was just watching. I learned a lot from mimicking things and seeing little things. The next thing you know, I started to understand the game pretty well. One thing leads to another. I really studied a lot … watched a lot of film. Obviously, I didn’t have coaches or anything like that.”

Early profiles describe the young Tiafoe as a sponge, quietly taking in everything he sees and hears, absorbing the details and nuances of the game 24/7. It’s a good thing, because he wasn’t getting much formal instruction from anyone else. According to 21-year-old Luca Corinteli, also a product of the JTCC and now a UVA senior who plans to turn pro next year, the reason Tiafoe’s game still looks other than textbook is that in the critical early stages of his development, he was essentially self-taught, and those lessons were imprinted by hammering countless balls against a wall.
 
citybert said:
Hes made a Grand Slam QF at 21. He did it before Shapo( he is only a yr older) and borna coric who both just made it now in a weak field.

He beat Anderson and Grigor to make the QF so it wasn’t exactly lucky draw either. yeah he looked terrible vs DM but he potentially has his best tennis ahead of him.
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Who doesn't beat Grigor these days?
 
he played so well v federer a few years ago, was explosive and dangerous. this was a weird performance and these are weird times so don't want to judge him too tough, but i expected him to nuke some of medvedevs junkballs for winners and make it somewhat close.

his technique is just screwy though, that hitch in the forehand and serve that's like 90% arm. backhand is imo somewhat similar to nick k's, when he moves his feet it works pretty well. and he's got good touch too...anyway hope he figures it out, seems like a pretty good guy.
 
mental midget said:
he played so well v federer a few years ago, was explosive and dangerous. this was a weird performance and these are weird times so don't want to judge him too tough, but i expected him to nuke some of medvedevs junkballs for winners and make it somewhat close.

his technique is just screwy though, that hitch in the forehand and serve that's like 90% arm. backhand is imo somewhat similar to nick k's, when he moves his feet it works pretty well. and he's got good touch too...anyway hope he figures it out, seems like a pretty good guy.
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He lost to an injured 36 year old Fed at USO in 5 sets. He has never shown himself to be above his ranking.
 
That Medvedev scoreline depresses the hell out of me. Like the Thiem one. I expected Meddy and Thiem to win but not like that.
These guys cannot even hold serve in a set at this level?
 
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