Being away from home did not stop Frances Tiafoe from following the 2024 National Football League season happening in America. After winning his opening contest in the Shanghai Masters, the American sent a special message to his favorite NFL team.
Despite having an ATP Masters 1000 tournament on the roster, the world number 17 made sure to follow the Washington Commanders’ campaign in the NFL. With his first Shanghai Masters clash against the homeboy Zhou Yi, taking place just hours after the Commanders’ latest victory over the Cleveland Browns, Tiafoe decided to give them a shoutout while signing the camera.
“Commanders, 4-1, lets go” wrote Tiafoe on the camera as a part of the ceremonial autograph.
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This was an attempt by Tiafoe to publicly show his support to the NFL team that clinched a dominating 34-13 victory over the Browns on Sunday. With this victory, the Commanders now have four wins in the season and have only lost one match in the first five weeks. Hence, Tiafoe highlighted this special achievement and their top position in the NFC East leaderboard.
Despite having a match of his own, the American still devoted his time to watching his favorite team in action, proving he is a true Commanders fan. Last month, he took some time out of his busy ATP calendar to motivate the Commanders after they lost their first game of the season.
Tiafoe’s support to Washington Commanders
The world number 17 once surprised the team by crashing their pre-match meeting ahead of their second clash against the New York Jets. The team was busy watching his tennis video as a source of motivation when he surprised them by physically appearing there. His surprise visit was met with loud cheers and a series of claps from the Commanders’ players.
Earlier, at the US Open as well, Tiafoe was asked about the Commanders’ quarterback, Jayden Daniels, who joined the team this year. In response, Tiafoe expressed his excitement and spoke about how he was looking forward to seeing Daniels in action this season.
“I think he’s going to be good. I think he’s going to be a really good quarterback in this league. And obviously he is playing for us, so I am super excited for him. I mean our line isn’t the best but I’m excited to see what he does and what he shakes up,” said Tiafoe.
Daniels has indeed lived up to the expectations of the Commanders’ fans so far as he became the first-ever NFL player to record 1000+ passing yards and 250+ rushing yards in his first five career games.
While the Commanders will play the Baltimore Ravens next on October 13, Tiafoe’s round-of-32 clash is scheduled against Russia’s Roman Safiullin. The two will be taking to the court on October 8th at 3:10 am ET.
