Frances Tiafoe had to see off the ATP Washington event in the quarterfinals. The American played two matches on the same day at the ATP 500 event in Washington and, after defeating Juncheng Shang in straight sets in the round of 16, he surrendered 4-6, 5-7 to an unstoppable Daniel Evans.
The Briton played one of the best matches of the season and he deservedly earned the semifinals at the Mubadala Citi DC Open. For Tiafoe it is a hard defeat to stomach, precisely because it matured under the eyes of the friendly crowd.
All the disappointment of Tiafoe after the defeat against Evans
In the press conference after the match, the US player said: “Yes, it’s a tough defeat to accept. It’s very difficult for me. Everyone was definitely here to see me play and win. It was hard. I think I’m at that moment in my career where I have to go far, play in the final and win them. He played a great game, but it still hurts.”
Tiafoe the added: “The first match of the day was really positive. I think I played pretty well. I felt really comfortable during the match. Then, in this evening’s match, I was slow and I made many mistakes. But Evans played exceptionally well: he also told me that he only hit free sixes.”
The American also said: “There are some things I could have done better. The support of the crowd? It was amazing, amazing. I have never felt such emotions here, they supported me incredibly. Everyone was screaming, it felt like a Grand Slam tournament. This is one of the tournaments that I want to win one day. I’ll try to make up for it next week.”
Tiafoe will be looking to make a comeback at the Masters 1000 in Toronto, where he was drawn at the bottom of the draw.
The American will challenge his debut Milos Raonic in one of the most interesting first round matches. In case of victory, he would then find Adrian Mannarino or one of the players coming from the qualifiers. In his own round of 16, there will be No. 6 seed Andrey Rublev.