Frances Tiafoe can be proud of the performance that he put up against Carlos Alcaraz during their third-round contest at Wimbledon 2024. Among many analysts and enthusiasts, Coco Gauff’s current coach Brad Gilbert also praised the American star for the same. Additionally, Gauff’s coach took to X and also tried lifting Tiafoe’s spirits.
Tiafoe entered Wimbledon with a subpar 13-14 YTD, which made the first half of the 2024 season one of the worst of his career so far. Additionally, the 26-year-old also suffered from horrific knee injury during the Queen’s Club Championships 2024 merely a few days before the Grand Slam began. So not many felt that Frances Tiafoe would even play in the tournament, let alone win matches in it.
But the ‘Big Foe’ took the tennis world by surprise after clinching the first two out of three sets against Alcaraz. He was even two points away from winning the bout. However, Alcaraz shifted gears to mount a comeback 3-2 win. While Tiafoe would understandably be dejected, Gilbert had a special tweet for him.
“Lighten up Frances came into @Wimbledon with a 13-14 record on the year and struggling with the knee after a fall at queens, this is the greatness of tennis no results given,” Gilbert wrote.
The Wimbledon 2024 wasn’t the World No. 29’s best run at the Grand Slam though. However, it was one of his most impressive displays considering the fact that he fought back from a 0-2 deficit in the first round and went on to win 7 sets in a row. Had it not been an opponent as strong as Alcaraz, we would’ve probably seen the Florida resident advance to the Round of 16.
Tiafoe will surely appreciate all the uplifting comments coming his way. However, the super coach’s U-turn towards being in the American youngster’s favor has come as a huge surprise.
When Brad Gilbert Criticized Frances Tiafoe
Before the ESPN analyst lauded Tiafoe for a stellar effort, he actually had a few strong words against him. When talking about the future of American tennis with Tennis.com in March 2024, Gilbert claimed that Tiafoe wouldn’t be as talked about had it not been for his run during the US Open 2022.
So Gilbert implied that the star barely achieved anything significant.
“Give him greater consistency, but keep in mind that if he had won the 2022 US Open—and he came darned close—we wouldn’t be having this conversation,” Gilbert said.
Despite having one of the worst seasons of his career, it is great to see that Tiafoe has managed to find a way to silence his critics. He would look to carry this momentum further into the North American swing, culminating into the US Open 2024.
