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MELBOURNE, Australia – Frances Tiafoe cruised to a five-set victory during her first-round match at the Australian Open and later said she might have quit if it was just a run-of-the-mill tournament.
A week later, the 27-year-old 17th-seeded Tiafoe managed a 7-6 (2), 6-3, 4-6, 6-7 (4), 6 win over France’s Arthur Rinderknecht. 3 in 4 hours, 8 minutes.
“If it had been any other incident, I might have given it up,” Tiafoe said of falling ill late in the fourth set. “But here, you have to put everything on the line.”
His Grand Slam breakthrough came at Melbourne Park in 2019, when he reached the quarterfinals before losing to Rafael Nadal.
Since then, Tiafoe has made further strides, including reaching the semifinals of the US Open in 2022 and 2024.
Although the temperature was around 80 degrees and it was sunny — a stark contrast to the thunderstorm that delayed play for more than six hours earlier in the day — Tiafoe said the heat wasn’t a problem for him during the match, which started at 11 a.m.
Instead, he said he was probably over-hydrated.
“It’s a difficult time. … I think it’s really hard to prepare,” Tiafoe said. “I’m glad I got through, glad everyone came out and enjoyed four hours of tennis much more than it should have.”
