"Delusional & annoying";"Feel for Frances Tiafoe" - Fans divided over American calling himself 'better player' against Taylor Fritz in US Open SF loss

Fans were divided over Frances Tiafoe's claim of being the 'better player' on the night despite losing his US Open semifinal against Taylor Fritz. Tiafoe led the match 2 sets to 1 but let his lead slip as Fritz advanced to his first-ever Grand Slam final.

Fritz was off the block quicker and raced to a 3-0 lead in the first set before Tiafoe made an exceptional comeback to bag the set. The second set was more closely contested and Fritz managed to close it by breaking Tiafoe at 6-5. The 20th seed continued his momentum in the third set as an early break paved the way for a 6-4 victory.

12th seed Fritz forced a deciding set by breaking Tiafoe at 5-4 in the fourth set. He then dominated the fifth set, winning 6-1 to secure a 4-6, 7-5, 4-6, 6-4, 6-1 victory.

In the post-match press conference, Tiafoe insisted that he was the better player, even though he ultimately lost the match.

"I thought I was the better player for sure tonight... It's tough.... Really tough to swallow,” the 26-year-old said.

His comments were posted on Reddit.

Tiafoe's tough 2024 US Open exit: "I thought I was the better player for sure" byu/da_SENtinel intennis

Some fans empathized with Tiafoe and agreed with his assessment.

"He's not wrong but then he lost control and lost the match. Tiafoe was dictating a lot and making Taylor move around the court a lot," one fan wrote.

"I feel for him and don’t mind the frustration in his comments. Two SF defeats at your home slam is rough when he hasn’t shown enough consistency to suggest that he’ll be back there again. But I hope he does," another fan wrote.

Comment byu/da_SENtinel from discussion intennis

"... It's a fair take and feeling, really... He didn't win, but he was playing well and could've, nothing wrong with feeling like you were better but couldn't get it done. That's how it goes sometimes," a third fan wrote.

Some fans, however, did not agree with Tiafoe's views.

"You were until you werent. That 4th set was tragic," one fan wrote.

"How the hell he would have been the better player? Fritz won the match, Fritz won more total points, Fritz won more serving games and Fritz won more returning games... Delusional and annoying from Tiafoe," another fan wrote.

Comment byu/da_SENtinel from discussion intennis

"🤡🤡🤡 The better player doesn’t win, the player who wins the key moments wins," yet another fan wrote.

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"Probably had a lot to do with nerves" - Frances Tiafoe on his loss against Taylor Fritz in the US Open 2024 SF

Frances Tiafoe competes with Taylor Fritz (not seen) at the US Open 2024. (Image: Getty)

After his loss to Taylor Fritz in the US Open semifinal, Frances Tiafoe explained that he had 'in-and-out cramps' during the fourth set. Before the fifth set, he had a lot of pickle juice and tried everything he could to help himself, but said that 'sometimes it is not meant to be'. He also attributed his loss to "nerves" related to the occasion.

“[Tonight] probably had a lot to do with nerves... I wasn't tired at all. Just, to get into the final... I have been feeling unbelievable physically. But also, I mean, it could be a testament to how many matches I've played in the short time and I haven't played that many matches all year like that,” Tiafoe said.

In the US Open final, Taylor Fritz will battle it out against Jannik Sinner at the Arthur Ashe Stadium on Sunday, September 8.