Frances Tiafoe scored the biggest victory of her career in the fourth round of the US Open, beating Rafael Nadal in four sets to book a quarterfinal match against Andrey Rublev. Tiafoe said that she lost track of space and time after winning the entertaining encounter.
The victory over Nadal, who was unbeaten in a Grand Slam match in 2022, was even more special for Tiafoe as his family and girlfriend were in the crowd, cheering him on. Frances said on court after the game: “I’m happy to have won in front of my mom, dad, girlfriend and team.”
Tiafoe’s parents met in the US after fleeing the civil war in Sierra Leone.
Frances Tiafoe’s parents, Constant Tiafoe and Alphina Kamara Tiafoe, fled the civil war in Sierra Leone in the mid-1990s and settled in Maryland. “I went to a funeral every week,” Kamara told him. Washington Post about the war that would claim 50,000 lives and displace millions.
Constant and Alphina met in suburban Washington, DC, and struck up a relationship. The couple welcomed Frances and her twin brother Franklin on January 20, 1998.
Frances and Franklin didn’t enjoy a luxurious life growing up (Constant worked as a laborer and Kamara as a registered nurse), but it was better than life in their native Sierra Leone.
The brothers’ trip to Africa when they were eight filled them with a deep appreciation for their parents. Tiafoe said landscape which witnessed previously unknown levels of poverty:
“People living with the lights off for a week, having to take cold showers, just living a hard life. The poverty there is crazy. You see it on TV, and then you see it up close and it’s like, dammit. People were really hurt and there was very little hope.”
Tiafoe noted that despite the precarious conditions in which the children of Sierra Leone lived, they did not complain, although he felt sorry for them. “He made me understand that as a US citizen he had opportunities and was capable of doing whatever he wanted,” he added.
Frances told the BBC that the trip helped him realize that the family was blessed even though his parents were not wealthy. He explained:
“We have food on the table every night, parents who love us, a television, all the accessories we need. It’s not terrible, you know what I’m saying? He definitely didn’t talk much after that, he was the happiest kid in the world.”
Frances’s father saw tennis as a means to pay for his children’s college education.
In 1999, Constant landed a construction job at the Junior Tennis Championship Center (JTCC) in suburban Washington DC Constant was impressed with his work ethic and was hired as the center’s custodian.
To earn more money, Frances managed the complex during the day and the clay courts at night. The long hours forced him to stay close to the facility, so he turned an empty room into a makeshift dwelling.
Kamara also worked long hours for most of the week, so Frances and Franklin spent many nights sleeping in the converted room. Tiafoe spoke with landscape about the living situation:
“It was quite a small room. There were two massage tables there, my father slept on one and my brother and I were young enough to share the other. My mom’s apartment was about three minutes away and we would stay there on weekends and other days when she was free.”
The Tiafoe brothers did not complain. Constant enrolled his children in the JTCC for free when they were five years old. Franklin and Frances had access to world-class facilities, but their parents couldn’t afford new workout equipment.
This led to name calling from children at the facility with privileged backgrounds. “Those poor, poor jokes back then really hurt,” Tiafoe said. “He made you feel, in the back of your mind, that you weren’t cut from the same cloth.”
Despite not having access to new equipment, Tiafoe, fueled by talent and hard work, made rapid progress in the sport. Constant saw tennis as an opportunity for the brothers to earn scholarships for college education. Tiafoe said:
“Once we got into the game of tennis, it was like my dad said, it would be amazing if they could use this as a full scholarship to school. I mean, we couldn’t afford a university. So use the tennis game.”
Tiafoe feels he owes it to his parents to succeed, given their sacrifices.
Frances’ dreams of playing at the highest level of tennis were awakened when she watched the Williams sisters dominate the Grand Slams. She got the motivation to work for her dreams thanks to her sacrifice and the hard work of her parents.
“It humbled me and made me serious,” Tiafoe told the BBC. “It came to my mind pretty quickly to use tennis as a way to help not only myself but our family because they’ve sacrificed so much.”
“I tell them all the time, it’s not about me,” Frances said. News 24. “They did a lot for me and my twin brother. We cannot be more grateful. Right now I’m just returning the favor. I have no excuse for never competing in a match.”
After defeating Rafael Nadal, Tiafoe predicted that his parents would never forget the sensational victory. “I can’t imagine what’s going through his head,” Frances said. “Yeah, I mean, they’re going to remember today for the rest of their lives.”
Franklin wasn’t around for Frances’ win against Nadal, but he was certainly proud of his twin’s effort. “Not surprised,” Franklin wrote on Instagram alongside a photo of the brothers.
“He pushes me and I push him,” Frances said. Washington Post. “It keeps me grounded, it keeps me humble, and it keeps me focused.”
Categories: Biography
Source: vcmp.edu.vn