Former United States First Lady Michelle Obama congratulated Frances Tiafoe on a great US Open run and added there will certainly be many more great results for him in the future. Tiafoe, 24, reached his first Grand Slam semifinal at this past US Open before falling short to eventual champion Carlos Alcaraz in a five-setter.
“@FTiafoe, I’m so proud of you! You were an amazing force on the court. I have a feeling we’ll all be watching you dominate in the years to come,” Obama tweeted.
.@FTiafoe, I’m so proud of you! You were an amazing force on the court.
I have a feeling we’ll all be watching you dominate in the years to come. pic.twitter.com/CtOjfwT3U8 — Michelle Obama (@MichelleObama) September 12, 2022
Obama was in attendance for the Tiafoe-Alcaraz match
On Friday night in New York, Obama came to watch Tiafoe’s US Open semifinal match versus Alcaraz.
After suffering a five-set defeat, Tiafoe revealed the funny reaction he had to seeing Obama following his match from the stands. “I seen her like 2-1 in the first, kind of turned my head right. She looked at me. Before they announced her, put it on the Jumbotron, I already seen her.
Everybody was pointing at her. I seen her. I think I shanked a return. Yeah, she thinks I’m a bum, can’t make a return (smiling),” Tiafoe said. “Seeing her there was crazy. Obviously there was a lot of who’s whos in there tonight.
Obviously we all know what she means. Crazy. Crazy getting to meet her after. Seen her before, but it’s a little bit different circumstance. She sees me and she’s actually excited to see me. Yeah, unbelievable. Unbelievable night.”
Overall, it was a great run for Tiafoe, who is now the 19th-ranked player in the world. For the first time in his career, Tiafoe is a top-20 player. Also, Tiafoe clinched probably the biggest win of his career when he record 22-time Grand Slam champion Rafael Nadal in the US Open round-of-16. It remains to be seen if Tiafoe can clinch more good results in the rest of the season.
