Tiafoe opens up about his form: "I'm barely seeded here, losing to clowns"

Frances Tiafoe is far from enjoying the best period of his career. His season so far has been very disappointing, and he has fallen steadily down the rankings to 29th in the world this week.

Faced with an excellent Arnaldi in the first round, the 26-year-old miraculously made it through to the second round. Trailing two sets to nil, he found his best tennis when it mattered, finally winning in 5 sets after a magnificent "remontada" (6-7, 2-6, 6-1, 6-3, 6-3).

Questioned after this fine victory, Tiafoe was kind enough to talk about the period of doubt he is currently experiencing. Speaking frankly, he explained: "Tennis is brutal. There are ups and downs. Look at where I am now. I was 10th in the world last year and now I'm barely seeded here, losing to clowns. I hate to say it, but I'll be honest.

I took the game for granted and relaxed a little too much. You stop having fun and find yourself in a strange position. Then you forget what you were doing to win.

Like everything else, nothing is always rosy. That's how fast you can get away with it. And there's always light at the end of the tunnel. You try to find it with small victories, or you continue to feel sorry for yourself and play the victim. That's when it gets darker and darker."