"I was holding on for dear life in that one" - Frances Tiafoe admits Wimbledon 3R loss to Carlos Alcaraz "hurts more" than US Open 2022 SF defeat

Frances Tiafoe has confessed to feeling more hurt by his third-round loss to Carlos Alcaraz at the ongoing 2024 Wimbledon Championships than his 2022 US Open semifinal defeat to the Spaniard. Tiafoe and Alcaraz produced an absolute thriller of a contest at the prestigious grasscourt Major on Friday, July 5, with the Spaniard winning 5-7, 6-2, 4-6, 7-6(2), 6-2.

Tiafoe came into his SW19 clash against Alcaraz as the clear underdog. However, the World No. 29's formidable return game saw him clinch the first set. Alcaraz, the defending Wimbledon champion, improved drastically in the second set to level things up. However, Tiafoe pegged the Spaniard back again in the third set with a combination of finesse and brutal power.

Alcaraz found himself in big trouble in the ninth game of the fourth set as well, as he trailed Tiafoe 0-30 on his own serve. However, he recovered brilliantly, with the set eventually being decided by a tiebreak, which the Spaniard dominated. The fifth and deciding set was a one-sided affair. By that point, Tiafoe had run out of steam.

Later on, at a press conference, Tiafoe compared his latest loss to Alcaraz to the one he suffered in the semifinals of the 2022 US Open. It was a thrilling five-setter on that occasion as well, which the then-19-year-old Alcaraz won 6-7(6), 6-3, 6-1, 6-7(5), 6-3.

"I’ll think about this match for a while, I still think about when I lost to him at the US Open. I was a set away from winning twice, you never know what can happen next," Tiafoe said.

The World No. 29 also laid bare that the Wimbledon loss hurts him more compared to the 2022 US Open defeat, where, according to Tiafoe, he was "holding on for dear life."

"I’ll think about that, but if I want to win one of these tournaments, I have to beat him. Even though I think this match hurts more than the US Open match, I feel like I was holding on for dear life in that one," Tiafoe added.

"Just our respect" - Frances Tiafoe opened up on his exchange with Carlos Alcaraz at the net after their third-round encounter at the 2024 Wimbledon Championships

Carlos Alcaraz and Frances Tiafoe hugging each other after their third-round match at the 2024 Wimbledon Championships

Immediately after Alcaraz sealed his progress to the fourth round, he and Tiafoe shared a warm embrace at the net. At the presser, Tiafoe was quizzed about the words exchanged between the pair. The World No. 29 initially said that the players gave "respect" to each other before hilariously joking that he told Alcaraz that he couldn't stand the Spaniard.

"Just our respect. He told me: 'It's great to see you playing like this'. I told him I couldn't stand him (laughs). I told him to go the other way and I wished him the best in winning the title. Carlos kept telling me that I'm one of the best players in the world. I have a lot of respect for him," Tiafoe said.

Alcaraz is set to face either Brandon Nakashima or No. 16 seed Ugo Humbert in the fourth round.