Tiafoe is not good.

robyrolfo

Hall of Fame
Regarding the loss to Korda, I think Foe was OK with going out at this stage, having gotten a healthy amount of warmup grass play under his belt already, with plenty of time now to freshen up for Wimbledon.

Ehh. I never block posters for a difference of opinion. Posters who are only here to be annoying add no value at all. Easy decision to ignore.
I hear you, but I just never block out of principle. That said, comments like this one below are just...
 
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Joseph_K

Hall of Fame
Frances Tiafoe can't be faulted for not trying. At his forty-seventh attempt the American has reached the final in the singles event at a Masters Series 1000 tournament for the first time, in Cincinnati. In his previous forty-six attempts Tiafoe had made only one semi-final and two quarter-finals. In Monday's final the unseeded American will face world no. 1 Jannik Sinner. The Italian currently leads their head-to-head 3-1.
 

dkmura

Professional
Well, Big Foe got beat in straights at the Cincinnati finals, but sure looked like a match against Sinner in the first set. Yes, there are some drawbacks in his game, but Tiafoe had some great shots that he can string together. On any given day, he can beat just about anyone on tour- even if he's "not good".
 

Galvermegs

Professional
Well, Big Foe got beat in straights at the Cincinnati finals, but sure looked like a match against Sinner in the first set. Yes, there are some drawbacks in his game, but Tiafoe had some great shots that he can string together. On any given day, he can beat just about anyone on tour- even if he's "not good".
Just not a big point player like sinner. Bad luck but i expected this.
 

Olli Jokinen

Hall of Fame
Well, Big Foe got beat in straights at the Cincinnati finals, but sure looked like a match against Sinner in the first set. Yes, there are some drawbacks in his game, but Tiafoe had some great shots that he can string together. On any given day, he can beat just about anyone on tour- even if he's "not good".
His backhand is better now. Holds up pretty well in those power rallies.
 

Trip

Legend
As others have pointed out before, he's just got too many hitches and inadequacies to his mechanics, to ever really be at the top of the elite. I mean, look at the forehand alone. So many unnecessary moving parts. But, for what he's got, he's mostly maximizing it. He's improved his court intelligence and his backhand. But I can't see him climbing much higher than right outside the top 10 though. A journeyman++ sub-top-tier type of career. Very respectable, all things considered.
 
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Galvermegs

Professional
As others have pointed out before, he's just got too many hitches and inadequacies to his mechanics, to ever really be at the top of the elite. I mean, look at the forehand alone. So many unnecessary moving parts. But, for what he's got, he's mostly maximizing it. He's improved his court intelligence and his backhand is at least serviceable. But I can't see him climbing much higher than right outside the top 10. A journeyman++ type of career. Not bad, all things considered.
At least he isnt a robotic persona like sinner and hurcacz
 

Trip

Legend
At least he isnt a robotic persona like sinner and hurcacz
That may be true, but at least Jannik and Hubi are gentlemen with proper social grace (not that Francis isn't as well). No whiny, spoiled brat behavior, self-entitlement complex, or temper tantrums. For that alone, they get a solid pass from me, and deserve to occupy the top spots as the main role models and spokesmen of the game. Yes, I'd love some more fiery personality as much as anyone else, but it has to be balanced with a core human being beneath it who is authentically likeable. That's apparently a rare combo in tennis. So many imbalanced head jobs, it's kind of bizarre.
 

bobleenov1963

Hall of Fame
At least he isnt a robotic persona like sinner and hurcacz
All you need to see is the speech trophy presentation after the Cinci match between BigFoe and Sinner. BigFoe's peech sounds like a ten years old while Sinner's speech was very respectful, Sinner thanked the fan for their support. Btw, Sinner is Italian and English is his 2nd language.
 

mikej

Hall of Fame
All you need to see is the speech trophy presentation after the Cinci match between BigFoe and Sinner. BigFoe's peech sounds like a ten years old while Sinner's speech was very respectful, Sinner thanked the fan for their support. Btw, Sinner is Italian and English is his 2nd language.
Eye roll, a super nice (and successful) guy on tour, came from the humblest beginnings, and always someone coming to criticize something dumb like his speech even when he has a fantastic week.

Definitely not because he’s black. Definitely not.
 

Galvermegs

Professional
All you need to see is the speech trophy presentation after the Cinci match between BigFoe and Sinner. BigFoe's peech sounds like a ten years old while Sinner's speech was very respectful, Sinner thanked the fan for their support. Btw, Sinner is Italian and English is his 2nd language.
Yes i find sinners politeness deeply frustrating. Even federer joking at roddicks expense in (?) 2005 about always beating him was funny, if paradoxically tempting the fate of rafole.
 

robyrolfo

Hall of Fame
As others have pointed out before, he's just got too many hitches and inadequacies to his mechanics, to ever really be at the top of the elite. I mean, look at the forehand alone. So many unnecessary moving parts. But, for what he's got, he's mostly maximizing it. He's improved his court intelligence and his backhand is at least serviceable. But I can't see him climbing much higher than right outside the top 10. A journeyman++ type of career. Not bad, all things considered.
Sorry, but if you make it to just outside the top 10, and play in the top 100 for 7 straight years (and counting), you aren't a journeyman. That's silly. A journeyman is more like Chris Eubanks, or a guy that never even had a run like Eubanks, but floated around the 100-200 rankings for a while.

Eye roll, a super nice (and successful) guy on tour, came from the humblest beginnings, and always someone coming to criticize something dumb like his speech even when he has a fantastic week.

Definitely not because he’s black. Definitely not.
Dude, what? Come on with this stuff. I love Foe as much as the next guy, but I can admit that some of the stuff he does makes me cringe. I LOVE his energy and personality on court, and even a few of his celebrations, but some of them have gotten to be a bit over the top, and the post match NBA style celebrations are just lame. Yes, the NBA is mostly black and dominated by black culture, but it's a different sport and tennis doesn't need that kind of vibe. NO, not because of black culture or anything like that, but because it's a completely different sport.

Today there is a story in the Italian sports newspaper with a photo of Sinner holding the winner's trophy while Tiafoe is giving the finger to the camera (and Sinner's back) right behind him. Now I know it's a joke, and the type of thing he does, but can you honestly not see how some people take it the wrong way and are bothered by it?

Yes i find sinners politeness deeply frustrating. Even federer joking at roddicks expense in (?) 2005 about always beating him was funny, if paradoxically tempting the fate of rafole.
Sinner is actually pretty funny and charming when he lets his guard down. I've seen some interviews with him in Italian that are much more endearing than his usual interviews (which I admit can be really boring sometimes).
 

bobleenov1963

Hall of Fame
Eye roll, a super nice (and successful) guy on tour, came from the humblest beginnings, and always someone coming to criticize something dumb like his speech even when he has a fantastic week.

Definitely not because he’s black. Definitely not.
I don't care about his race. Watch the entire trophy presentation speech and decides for yourself.

His attitude about his opponent rubbed me the wrong way. Giving that middle finger is not only childish, it is unprofessionally disrespectful. Only a ten years old does that, not a 26 years old man. Had Sinner done something like that, everyone would claim it is a racial thing:
 

Trip

Legend
Sorry, but if you make it to just outside the top 10, and play in the top 100 for 7 straight years (and counting), you aren't a journeyman. That's silly. A journeyman is more like Chris Eubanks, or a guy that never even had a run like Eubanks, but floated around the 100-200 rankings for a while.
Yeah I guess I was a bit off-base calling him a journeyman. Probably this sub-forum rubbing off on me, as there are many here who are just brutal on anyone other than next-gen ATG's. Tiafoe is pretty solid. I do wonder, though, how much better he might be if he could simplify some of his technique... what do you think?
 

mikej

Hall of Fame
I don't care about his race. Watch the entire trophy presentation speech and decides for yourself.

His attitude about his opponent rubbed me the wrong way. Giving that middle finger is not only childish, it is unprofessionally disrespectful. Only a ten years old does that, not a 26 years old man. Had Sinner done something like that, everyone would claim it is a racial thing:
One of those situations where I’m just going to let your posts speak for themselves

That moment was all in good fun - Roddick was beloved for b!tch!n& in trophy presentations and post-match interviews about how much it sucked to play against the best of his time (Federer) - even flinging his racquet across the court towards Fed after the famed overhead-off-an-overhead - for him he was just keeping it real or whatever, which don’t get me wrong I often thought was funny

I also smiled at this - he’s one of the more beloved players on tour, absolutely no one celebrates his opponents great shots more than Tiafoe and he has incredibly few negative outbursts - just having some fun with how hard it is to get past Sinner this year, for everyone
 
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Aabye5

G.O.A.T.
As others have pointed out before, he's just got too many hitches and inadequacies to his mechanics, to ever really be at the top of the elite. I mean, look at the forehand alone. So many unnecessary moving parts. But, for what he's got, he's mostly maximizing it. He's improved his court intelligence and his backhand is at least serviceable. But I can't see him climbing much higher than right outside the top 10. A journeyman++ type of career. Not bad, all things considered.

His backhand was going toe-to-toe against Sinner's -- more than serviceable. 'Journeyman' is not a good fit.
 

robyrolfo

Hall of Fame
Yeah I guess I was a bit off-base calling him a journeyman. Probably this sub-forum rubbing off on me, as there are many here who are just brutal on anyone other than next-gen ATG's. Tiafoe is pretty solid. I do wonder, though, how much better he might be if he could simplify some of his technique... what do you think?
It's tough to say. Obviously he has a lot of natural talent and great physical attributes, but if you take away some of his ability to play lose, carefree and creative, it might actually hinder him in some ways. Making him a little more robotic just doesn't seem right. He also a very good volleyer (which he often doesn't get any credit for), so I'd like to see him at the net more.

As he plays now, there are a lot of ups and downs, but some of the "ups" are a really good level. A few years ago he was giving Djokovic a hard time in Australia, he made that US Open semi (and I think played WAY too tight and conservative in that match), and frankly could have (and maybe should have) beaten Alcaraz in Wimbledon this year.

Personally, I think he needs to play a little less. Skip some smaller events and keep his mind clear and fresh. Sometimes he just doesn't look fully engaged, and his game suffers a lot in those situations. I think he's over-played the past few years.

One of those situations where I’m just going to let your posts speak for themselves

That moment was all in good fun - Roddick was beloved for b!tch!n& in trophy presentations and post-match interviews about how much it sucked to play against the best of his time (Federer) - even flinging his racquet across the court towards Fed after the famed overhead-off-an-overhead - for him he was just keeping it real or whatever, which don’t get me wrong I often thought was funny

I also smiled at this - he’s one of the more beloved players on tour, absolutely no one celebrates his opponents great shots more than Tiafoe and he has incredibly few negative outbursts - just having some fun with how hard it is to get past Sinner this year, for everyone
I don't know. I think most of the other players get to spend enough time with/around him to know his sense of humor and personality, and that is why he is well liked. But many fans hardly ever see him play, and so this stuff just seems so silly and immature from them. I mean, giving the finger to the camera isn't the end of the world, but it's also pretty childish.

Honestly, after watching him play a lot, and seeing his segments on the Netflix show, I think the guy could use some solid guidance. He's been in the tour bubble since he was pretty young, and he really exploded in notoriety (in the US) after that US Open semi-final. But you can see that he struggles to stay grounded sometimes, and he gets a little wrapped up in rubbing shoulders with celebrities and star athletes. It's understandable, and not the end of the world, but if he wants to be consistently in the top 10 and try to grab a slam at some point, he needs to ditch a lot of that stuff and get more focused.
 

tennis24x7

Hall of Fame
Well, Big Foe got beat in straights at the Cincinnati finals, but sure looked like a match against Sinner in the first set. Yes, there are some drawbacks in his game, but Tiafoe had some great shots that he can string together. On any given day, he can beat just about anyone on tour- even if he's "not good".
You should say this when he beats someone not loses
 

Joseph_K

Hall of Fame
An interesting third-round match-up at the U.S. Open, where no. 20 seed Frances Tiafoe will face no. 13 seed Ben Shelton on Friday. These two players have met twice before, including in the quarter-finals at Flushing Meadow last year, and Shelton has won both matches. Both players will no doubt be eager to defend their points from last year and reach the fourth round again.
 

Aabye5

G.O.A.T.
A repeat of their quarterfianl from last year at the USO, Shelton has an advantage in the h2h, leading 2-0.
 
His weird duck walk is certainly unique...
giphy.gif
 

yokied

Hall of Fame
As an Aussie I'm rooting for Alexei, but after reviewing both their matches coming in, I like Frances to win. Popyrin still hasn't made much progress in tactics, court positioning or groundstrokes.

Tiafoe should be able to soak it and grind through. Disappointed he dropped Ferreira as coach. Wonder when that happened - haven't watched any tennis in ages.
 

Midaso240

Legend
Just… no. Pop got the luxury of running into Djoker on an “old man” day. Unless he plays really poorly, Tiafoe will take this one.
I mean, Popyrin just won the Canadian Open. He's certainly been playing better tennis this summer than Shelton and that was a 5 setter for Tiafoe. I stand by that, I think he wins if he holds his form. But he probably won't, he's bound to have an emotional drop after beating a player like Djokovic
 

Aabye5

G.O.A.T.
As an Aussie I'm rooting for Alexei, but after reviewing both their matches coming in, I like Frances to win. Popyrin still hasn't made much progress in tactics, court positioning or groundstrokes.

Tiafoe should be able to soak it and grind through. Disappointed he dropped Ferreira as coach. Wonder when that happened - haven't watched any tennis in ages.

Ferreira is now working with Draper, I think
 

hades11

New User
I mean, Popyrin just won the Canadian Open. He's certainly been playing better tennis this summer than Shelton and that was a 5 setter for Tiafoe. I stand by that, I think he wins if he holds his form. But he probably won't, he's bound to have an emotional drop after beating a player like Djokovic
He was several times one or two points away from losing in Canada not like he smashed through the field. If Tiafoe plays good, I fancy him to reach the semifinals.
 
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