In a series of exclusive features for Supersport.com, Grant Shub speaks to former world number six and current coach of Frances Tiafoe, Wayne Ferreira, about his protege’s rise through the ranks and what we can expect from the 2023 edition of the US Open
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Having been tested in the third round by France’s Adrian Mannarino, whose game Tiafoe described in the post-match interview as “annoying”, the American tenth seed made light work of Australia’s Rinky Hijikata in straight sets to book his quarterfinal spot.
Tiafoe, who has electrified the New York crowd with his high octane tennis, has only dropped one set so far this tournament but has enjoyed a relatively kind draw at Flushing Meadows. Ferreira believes the match against Mannarino, which saw his charge drop the first set 4-6, was top preparation for tougher challenges that lie ahead.
MANNARINO MADE ‘BIG FOE’ GRIND IT OUT
“Frances has taken his matches well and won pretty easily,” Ferreira tells SuperSport.com from the practice courts in New York. “He has had a pretty nice draw leading up to the quarters not having to play anybody really strong as they could have been in some ways. However, against Mannarino it was a good match for him to realise that he should grind more, play longer points and be a little bit more physical out there.”
After seeing off Mannarino in four sets, Tiafoe dispatched wildcard Hijikata, who appeared out of his depth against the more experienced American. Ferreira believes that it was too big of an occasion for Hijikita, who has just started on the tour and has to work his way up. Of the round of 16 match, he felt Hijikata wasn’t ready for someone like Tiafoe, who managed to overpower him, but Ben Shelton is a totally different beast.
BATTLE OF THE BIG BOYS ON ARTHUR ASHE
20-year-old rising star and fellow American, Shelton, booked a first-ever meeting with Tiafoe after overcoming Tommy Paul in four sets. The banter has been flowing freely in the locker room, with Tiafoe suggesting Shelton needs to spend more time in the gym working on his shoulders and that the Nike sleeveless shirt fits him better than his rival.
The pair have also poked fun at each other's colourful outfits, with Coco Gauff entering the fray and suggesting that it looks like Tiafoe is “wearing confetti”. Ferreira though is in favour of Nike bringing out something different in terms of fashion and, while both men’s play will do the talking, the muscle-hugging fits make them stand out even more.
“For me, Ben doesn’t need to build up anything because he’s a big boy already,” says Ferreira of the pre-match verbal jousting between the two good friends and compatriots. “Both of them are such great athletes and like Frances, Ben is extremely strong and fit.”
They have never faced each other before and, with Tiafoe Shelton’s senior by five years, Ferreira is hopeful his experience will tell in the most anticipated clash between two American male players in more than a decade scheduled for Arthur Ashe Stadium.
“Ben is on his way up and Frances is trying to stay where he is,” says the South African, who is based stateside. “Ben played an exceptionally good match against Tommy in the round of 16 so we have to expect a tough one. His serve is huge (measured at 149 m/ph or 239 km/h) , he plays a very strong game and he is going to be very powerful.”
SHELTON’S MONSTER SERVE MAKING WAVES
In terms of Shelton’s monster serve, which has the whole tennis world talking, Ferreira says that not since the now-retired Sam Groth, who recorded the fastest ever serve in 2012 at a speed of 163.7mph (263.4 km/h) has he seen anything like it on the ATP tour.
“Ben’s serve is incredible and he really has a lot of power on it,” the 51-year-old says. “Frances’s fastest serve is like 136 mph (218 km/h) which is still very good but 149 mph is a step above. It’s insane and I haven’t seen anyone serve that fast for a long time.”
While Shelton has impressed in reaching the quarterfinals after doing the same at the Australian Open in January, Ferreira notes that the left-hander still sometimes plays like a youngster in terms of being a little bit flashy and at times going through mental dips.
CONCENTRATION IS KEY OVER FIVE SETS
“Building your concentration over five sets is difficult and they all struggle as young players because those five sets take a long time,” says Ferreira, who has already been in New York for two weeks and is based with Team Tiafoe at a hotel in Manhattan. “We hope that Frances’s experience will pay off. In the rally ball points it’s going to be interesting to see who takes control of the baseline. I would assume that Frances would and if he can then he is going to have a chance to win. But if he struggles a little bit with the pace and Ben can do well from the baseline then the match is going to be tough.”
***The US Open runs from 28 August to 10 September and will be broadcast live on Your World of Champions. Tiafoe’s quarterfinal is set for 02:15 am tomorrow (SA time).