Tennis - US Open 2024 - Frances Tiafoe : "Very tough, really, this is very tough. I think I was the best tonight"
Frances Tiafoe aura besoin de temps pour digérer cette défaite. Vendredi soir, l'Américain a perdu un derby contre Taylor Fritz en demi-finale de l'US Open, 4-6, 7-5, 4-6, 6-4, 6-1. Tiafoe menait deux manches à une et semblait voler vers sa première finale de Grand Chelem avant de craquer, notamment physiquement, et de s'incliner. Le scénario est particulièrement frustrant pour le joueur de 26 ans, qui n'a pas caché sa déception en conférence de presse. "C'est très dur. Très très dur à avaler. Ça fait vraiment mal."
Vidéo : @USOpen
Vidéo : @USOpen
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00:00Oh man, it's tough. It's really, really tough. Really, really tough. So I was, this one's
00:11gonna hurt really, really bad. I mean, I thought I was a better player for sure tonight, I
00:17think. But then in the fourth, just out of nowhere, just had, just had like some in and
00:25out cramps. I just felt, you know, like my body, it kind of just shut down on me. I don't
00:31know, like probably had a lot to do with nerves. I wasn't tired at all, just, you know, about
00:37to get into the final. You know, I've, probably the closest I was, obviously, when I played
00:44El Coraz, I was kind of hanging for dear life to go five. You know, here I was, I was really
00:47in a position to win and, you know, probably with the ECU I had and to be, I was almost
00:52able to be in that position. I've been feeling unbelievable physically. But also, I mean,
00:58it could be a testament to how many matches I've played in a short time and I haven't
01:01played that many matches all year like that. I mean, but ultimately, yeah, I think nerves
01:07got the better of me tonight and yeah, kind of just went down. It's kind of like a similar
01:13thing with El Coraz and Novak that year, the French, it kind of seems like the same thing,
01:16just couldn't really move. But you got to tip your hat to Taylor, he stayed with it,
01:22he competed and he deserved it tonight. So all the best time in the final.
01:26Thank you. One question each. Brian.
01:29Brian Lewis, New York Post. In your mind, for instance, how much of that was, say, mental
01:34and how much of it may have been, it seemed like after that 31 shot rally that you weren't
01:40quite moving the same way you were before that. How much was mental and how much of
01:45it was perhaps the rally took something out of you?
01:48Yeah, I mean, it was definitely an intense rally, but I think,
01:52was that 3-0 or something like that? Yeah, I mean, there was a couple of holes after that,
01:59so it wasn't really that rally. I mean, it was more later than that set at 5-4, I'm on
02:0340-15 with a double-double and I'm getting broken there, but I kind of felt there out
02:10of nowhere. I guess, you know, just weird cramps out of nowhere, but I felt fine. It
02:15wasn't even really warm or humid tonight. Again, I just think the moment, I got ahead
02:23of myself and something I'm definitely going to learn from, but I promise it's probably
02:27not going to happen to me again. Matt.
02:30Hey, Francis. What kind of talk did you give yourself in between the fourth and fifth set?
02:40I tried to give everything you got for fifth set. I mean, I tried a bunch of different
02:48things. I had a bunch of pickle juice, so I was gargling and spitting it out. I was,
02:54you know, eating and doing kind of everything I could, but obviously he's trying to give
02:58him one last shot, right? The fifth set is a semis of slam. Try to give everything you
03:02got, but sometimes it's not meant to be.
03:07Richard.
03:08You, I know it's hard to look at, but you've had an incredible couple of weeks between
03:12Cincinnati and here. I imagine when you do walk away from here, you'll feel good about
03:17where you put yourself back in the mix.
03:23I mean, yeah, for sure. You know, I've scored for a really, really long time. You know,
03:30I'm obviously just going to hurt and stuff. I'm going to turn the page. I'm going to
03:34try to end the year strong. I'm going to go to Asia, do the whole thing, do it the
03:37right way, not half-ass it. I'm going to go to the Labor Cup and compete. I'm going
03:43to let this thing, but I'm going to learn from that. I'm going to learn from this.
03:48And I'm going to work really hard. I'm going to be in these positions again, for sure,
03:53and just hoping for a different outcome.
03:57Ava.
03:58Nice tournament, Francis. I'm wondering how it felt for you out there to play against
04:02another American. It was obviously a really good crowd and it was packed and everything,
04:06but those crowds are very different when it's you against a non-American player. Did
04:10that cross your mind at all tonight?
04:13No. No. I still really thought they were for me, to be fair. It made me feel even worse
04:21when I'm down 4-0 in the fourth. You see a lot of people leaving. It's crazy. But ultimately,
04:28it was a great night. I mean, to have two Americans. But once you're out there battling,
04:31I'm not really thinking, oh, I'm playing another American guy who's competing.
04:34But, yeah, man, I mean, that's kind of what it was.
04:41What do you think, Francis, your performance and Taylor's and the other Americans at this
04:47tournament might mean going forward for men's tennis?
04:51I think it opened the floodgates, for sure. I think guys are going to start believing
04:53they can go deep in slams. Tommy's already made some slams, Ben as well. Obviously,
04:57him beating me last year here in the quarters. For now, he's made a foul, so none of us younger
05:03guys have done that. I mean, we'll see what happens on Sunday, but I think a lot of guys
05:09are going to be able to think they can do it, especially in this one, where later in the season,
05:14stuff like that with American crowds and what have you. I mean, I think this is big. I think
05:20this is big. It shows that it's definitely possible. As I said, again, the game's open.
05:26Even with Alcaraz and Sinner and these other guys, it's not what it used to be.
05:31Just a couple more. Bill.
05:35Good run here at the U.S. Open, Francis. You said that you would learn from this match.
05:42What do you think you'll learn?
05:47I mean, obviously, I'm going to be able to be a little bit more poised during that time.
05:55Maybe not panic or whatever. Preparation's probably going to be even better. You can
06:00always be fitter. You can always be stronger. Try different things and speak to my team.
06:08You just kind of learn from the situation. Not get ahead of yourself. Not be like,
06:13oh, I'm almost set away from getting the front leg. Stay in those moments, which I have been
06:17all to leading up to it. More excited to stay in the moment. Maybe
06:24you know, add some stuff what you're doing on the changeovers, what your intake is,
06:31eating and hydration wise. You got to look at the whole thing.
06:37Because you just don't want it to happen again, since it was a nervous situation.
06:41Last question.
06:43Francis, again, congratulations on the run. You mentioned you're kind of looking ahead
06:48while during the match. At what point do you remember thinking,
06:52did you allow yourself to think, oh, I think I'm going to be in the final?
06:56Yeah, early days in the fourth. I got good looks. I'm turning well. I was holding easy
07:03early in the fourth. I'm like, oh, here we go. Two sets to one up. You're changing. You're like,
07:08oh, shit. Come out strong. Let's get this fourth done. We're going to be in the final.
07:12That's normal thinking, for sure. In the past matches before, I was just only thinking about
07:20what it takes to win rather than thinking about what's potentially ahead. And I can play a part
07:26in it, too. But again, I mean, to be able to almost be in that position. Yeah, I think I
07:33just got ahead of myself. I mean, this thing's a bit, I mean, it's not a bit, this thing's a lot,
07:37but I'm going to learn from it and I'll be better going forward, for sure.