The Big Foe Show must go on.
Frances Tiafoe kept up the strong performance by the American men at their home Grand Slam, steamrolling Valentin Vacherot 6-4, 6-2, 6-4 in a third-round rout at the U.S. Open on Friday night.
The 11th-seeded Tiafoe looked completely dominant, not broken once and needing under two hours to roll into the Round of 16.
“It was a really good performance,” Tiafoe said. “I returned well. It was nice to get relatively early breaks in every set, only had 13 unforced [errors]. I served much better than I have been in the last recent matches, even matches in Cincinnati. Yeah, it was a good match. It was the best I’ve played, for sure, in this event.”
It was a crisp game, with 30 winners and just 13 unforced errors. Tiafoe scored on 85 percent of his first serves and had just two double faults.
And most of all, he looked indefatigable, with fitness to match his athleticism.
After vowing to drink a gallon of water daily as part of the “75 Hard” challenge — a mental toughness and fitness regimen that includes diet and workouts — it’s paying dividends.
“No question. It’s helped me out mentally more than anything. Up to this point, I haven’t won this many matches up to this point in my career,” Tiafoe said. “Yeah, it’s created a lifestyle, man, just trying to get up and do it, do hard things every day.
“I just felt good, even though I’ve got some kinks and little niggles and injuries. Overall, I feel good, mentally ready, able to perform at a high level often, which wasn’t the case before. Yeah, I definitely put a lot to that.”
Tiafoe improved to 6-0 at Louis Armstrong Stadium, including 3–0 over the past week, saying he enjoys the vibe there with “no suites” and fans actually watching tennis.
Those hardcores saw Tiafoe earn a Round of 16 date vs. Daniil Medvedev, against whom he has lost six of seven meetings.
But his win improved seeded Americans to 30-2 at this U.S. Open.
Alex Michelsen plays No. 27 Tomás Martin Etcheverry and Tommy Paul faces Carlos Alcaraz in the Round of 16.
Four other Americans were trying to join them there. Ben Shelton played Denis Shapovalov late Friday night for a Round of 16 date with Stefanos Tsitsipas. Taylor Fritz, Learner Tien and wild card Michael Zheng are all still alive as well.
But despite the absence of Jannik Sinner, Novak Djokovic and Felix Auger-Aliassime, Tiafoe wasn’t ready to say the path is easier.
“All the Slams I’ve lost this year, I wasn’t concerned with Sinner or Alcaraz. I didn’t lose to them; lost to the field,” Tiafoe said. “You’ve got to beat the guys in front of you. If you get those type of matchups, OK, handle that when you get there.”
