America’s Frances Tiafoe decided to change things up a little after his first-round win at the 2023 Australian Open over Daniel Altmaier.
The World No. 17, who progressed to the second round after defeating Germany’s Altmaier in an exciting four-setter 6-3, 6-3, 6-7 (5), 7-6 (6), abandoned the usual procedure of shaking hands with the chair umpire after concluding the match and instead went for a quick high-five.
The umpire, Carlos Bernardes, happily reciprocated Frances Tiafoe's high-five.
Frances Tiafoe, who donned a bold outfit for the occasion, was in a great mood after the victory, having successfully defended his points from the 2022 Australian Open, where he bowed out against compatriot Taylor Fritz in the second round.
To improve his ranking points, the American will now look to better his result from last year.
"You can't win the tournament in the first round, but you can damn sure lose it" - Frances Tiafoe on his 1R victory at Australian Open 2023
After winning his opening match at the 2023 Australian Open, Tiafoe reflected on his hard-earned victory against Daniel Altmaier. He stated that the match “could have gone either way” during the fourth set tie-break, with the possibility of a fifth and final set looming over him.
“I was playing great tennis for the first hour and 45 or two hours. Got broken. He raised energy and level quite a lot. I got pretty negative there. And yeah, I mean, I think did a great job holding serve and giving myself chances,” he said during the on-court interview.
“You know, I had 0-40 at 1-0 in the fourth (set), didn’t get it. And he kept serving well. Getting himself out of trouble. The tie-breaker could have gone either way and just happy I got out of there.”
The 24-year-old further noted that although making it through to the second round was far from winning the tournament, staying in contention for the title after a tough match was very important.
“You can’t win the tournament in the first round, but you can damn sure lose it, so. I am happy I got out there and gave myself another chance. Thank you guys,” he said. “Everyone’s playing so well now. You know, with the racquets and all the work everyone’s putting in. You know, he’s whatever he’s ranked, I am whatever I’m ranked and it was a high level match. Every match is tough.”
Frances Tiafoe will now face China's Juncheng Shang in the second round of the Australian Open on Wednesday.