Tokyo — Friday, despite acute jet lag, Frances Tiafoe advanced to the Japan Open semifinals with a 6-0, 6-4 victory over Miomir Kecmanovic of Serbia. Tiafoe won each set with an ace.
Saturday in Tokyo, the fourth-seeded Tiafoe will meet the unseeded Kwon Soon-woo of South Korea.
The American, who defeated Rafael Nadal to reach his first Grand Slam semifinal at the US Open, stated that he had been “solid from the start” in the 71-minute quarterfinal.
“Today’s tennis was outstanding,” he stated. “I was moving quite well, and I was hitting the ball exceptionally effectively from the back of the court,” he stated.
The 19th-ranked tennis player in the world, Tiafoe, was unable to adjust to the Tokyo time zone.
I’ve been quite ill and jet-lagged, so I’ve likely been sleeping and waking up extremely early.
Kwon defeated Spaniard Pedro Martinez 6-3, 6-0, and Tiafoe stated that it would be “great” to face the South Korean, whom he fought in the Tokyo Olympics.
“Kwon is a fantastic player. This week he has been playing quite well, so it will be exciting to play him; we sometimes train in Florida.”
The victor may face the mercurial Australian superstar Nick Kyrgios, who faces the third-seeded American Taylor Fritz later on Friday.
Since surprising Nadal at Flushing Meadows and playing a starring role at the Laver Cup in London, where his Rest of the World Team defeated Europe for the first time in the competition’s history, Tiafoe has been in the spotlight.
He has expressed his desire to encourage a new generation of African-American tennis players.