Frances Tiafoe becomes the first African-American man to rank in the world’s top 10 for 14 YEARS

Frances Tiafoe has broken into the top 10 of the men’s ATP world rankings, in turn becoming the first African-American man to achieve the feat in over 14 years.

Tiafoe, 25, has achieved his career-high ranking after winning the Stuttgart Open at the weekend, leapfrogging Russian Karen Khachanov into the top 10.

The last African-American man to hold a spot in the top 10 of the men’s singles rankings was James Blake back in January 2009.

Blake, who retired in 2013 – but made a cameo return to the tour last month – got as high as fourth in the world during his career back in 2006, but didn’t manage to win a Grand Slam.

He got to the Wimbledon semi-final in 2009 and the Australian Open quarter-final in 2005, but only reached the second round at the US and French.

Tiafoe, meanwhile, is not yet at the peak of his powers and will hope to continue his hot streak heading into a big few months with Wimbledon and the US Open fast approaching.

He reached the semi-finals at Flushing Meadows last year, and recorded a personal best result at the French Open last month by reaching the third round. 

What’s more, Tiafoe’s surge up the rankings leaves America with two men’s tennis players in the top 10 for the first time in more than a decade.

Tiafoe won 4-6, 7-6 (1), 7-6 (8) after saving a match point in the deciding tiebreaker against Jan-Lennard Struff at the BOSS Open in Stuttgart.

Along with Taylor Fritz in eighth, the U.S. has two men in the top 10 for the first time since Mardy Fish and John Isner were ninth and 10th in May 2012, the ATP tour said.

Tiafoe failed to convert his first match point at 6-5 in the decisive tiebreaker when he hit into the net after the longest rally of the match. Struff then had a match point of his own at 7-6, which Tiafoe saved with a backhand.

A miscued return cost Tiafoe his second match point before a hectic finish on his third when he hit a smash only for Struff to somehow return it, before Tiafoe finished off the win with an instinctive volley at the net.

‘I got super lucky there on match point. I still don´t know how I hauled it over the net but I´ll take it,’ Tiafoe said.

Tiafoe won the final despite not having a single break of serve against Struff, who hit 28 aces.

Tiafoe’s tournament has been packed with tiebreakers – six of the 10 sets he played in Stuttgart finished that way – and he saved six set points in another tiebreaker in his semifinal win over Marton Fucsovics.

Tiafoe moves to 3-4 in career finals with his second tournament win of the year after beating Tomás Martín Etcheverry for the Houston title on clay in April.