"I haven't been this depressed in a very long time," Tiafoe does not rule out cutting his season short after early exit at US Open
Frances Tiafoe left the US Open as early as the third round this year. A semifinalist last year against Taylor Fritz, the world No. 17 fell hard against Jan-Lennard Struff.
The 35-year-old German won in three tight sets (6-4, 6-3, 7-6) and will face Novak Djokovic in the round of 16. Struff has never beaten the Serbian in their seven previous meetings.
In any case, on Tiafoe's side, the disappointment is great. Last year's Cincinnati Masters 1000 finalist does not yet know when he will play again this season, as he had higher ambitions in New York.
"Of course, he's an excellent player, he's been very highly ranked in the past. He played a very good match, serving very well. His first-serve percentage wasn't that high, but he did what he needed to do, especially at the beginning.
It was complicated for me to perform well on his service games. I felt like the surface on the Grandstand was very fast today, and it wasn't easy to engage him in rallies.
I was late on a lot of balls. I had a small opening to exploit when he gave me some gifts, but I wasn't able to take my chances. I was extremely passive today, I wasn't able to put any pressure on him in this match.
I think Arthur Ashe and Louis Armstrong are courts that suit me better, even though the last time I played on this court, it wasn't as fast. Today, he knew how to come at me when he needed to, from the first shots, and it was difficult for me.
This is a loss that will be hard to swallow, especially given the way I played and because it's always a disappointment to leave the US Open so early in the tournament. To be honest, I don't know what I'm going to do for the rest of the season. I have no idea, that's the current reality.
I know I'm registered to play in the Tokyo tournament, the Laver Cup, and the Davis Cup. But right now, I still don't know what I'm going to do. I don't know how I'm going to handle it, how I'm going to play, or how I'm going to recover from all this. I haven't been this depressed in a very, very long time," Tiafoe told Tennis Up To Date after his elimination.
