Tiafoe: "I would have stayed in Serbia and relaxed".

Frances Tiafoe has once again enjoyed a fine tournament.

Confident since his final in Cincinnati, the American seems more at ease than ever on the court, as demonstrated by his superb 3rd round victory over Ben Shelton (4-6, 7-5, 6-7, 6-4, 6-3).

Although he was expecting to meet up with Novak Djokovic, in the end it was only Alexei Popyrin who made it to the last 16.

Asked about the defending champion's setback, Tiafoe played down the situation: "To be honest with you, it's unbelievable that he came here.

If I'd won a gold medal and done everything he'd done before, I'd have stayed in Serbia, relaxing and drinking like mad.

That's why he is who he is, isn't it? And he's funny. He and I joke all the time. I really like this guy.

And at 37, you want to come back here? It's crazy."