Frances Tiafoe started his latest stint back on home soil with a victory.
Following Tiafoe’s shock second round defeat at Wimbledon, he is thrilled to play in front of his home fans once again.
Frances Tiafoe has commenced the North American hard court swing at the Citi Open in Washington, with Aleksandar Kovacevic as his opponent.
He was given a tough test by his compatriot, but Tiafoe prevailed in three sets to set up a meeting with Italy’s Flavio Cobolli.
Photo by Scott Taetsch/Getty ImagesFrances Tiafoe says he thinks the courts in Washington D.C. are much faster in 2025
Following an early exit from the Wimbledon Championships, Tiafoe had more time to prepare for the start of his favourite portion of the season, the US hard court summer.
Tiafoe has advanced to the quarter-finals in Washington for the past three seasons, and he kept the chances of achieving that feat for the fourth time alive.
He won 87% of his first serve points during the 7-5, 3-6, 6-3 victory against Kovacevic and post-match, Tiafoe explained what he found challenging about playing on the Citi Open courts, which he says are much faster than previous years.
“I really didn’t think the match had much in it. Not many rallies. Courts are really fast this year. I got in a great serving rhythm there towards the end,” Tiafoe told reporters.
“Tough to kind of make returns. I thought he served really well. I don’t know how many aces he ended up with. What was the ace count, both of us?
“I caught him there at the end. Served really well at the end. He served well, man. Yeah, it wasn’t great tennis, but happy to win. Had flashes of pretty good stuff. Just happy to win those.”
Photo by Donato Fasano/Getty ImagesFrances Tiafoe will contest his second ATP match against Flavio Cobolli in Washington D.C.
The Citi Open will host Tiafoe’s second ATP Tour match against Cobolli.
The Italian reached the next round in America’s capital city by defeating Yoshihito Nishioka 6-2, 7-6.
The 23-year-old is in good form and he arrived in the United States after reaching the Wimbledon quarter-finals for the first time.
He lost his previous match against Tiafoe, which took place at the 2024 Delray Beach Open, winning just six games.
Cobolli has improved exponentially since then and he will fancy his chances of taking down a home favourite in the American capital.