NEW YORK—Frances Tiafoe loves the spotlight. Loves interacting with a crowd. Loves the electricity of being an American at the U.S. Open, at Arthur Ashe Stadium, in particular. What he loves most of all, of course, is coming out on the right side of a match in that environment, at that arena.
Add in the heightened tension of a fifth set against a friend and countryman he lost to in the quarterfinals at Flushing Meadows a year ago, Ben Shelton, and Tiafoe’s attention-grabbing victory Friday meant a lot to him, even if it was in the afternoon, not at night, even if it was in the third round, not Week 2.
