Frances Tiafoe left devastated by Wimbledon exit, branding his display ‘horrible, depressing and unacceptable’ in straight sets defeat by Grigor Dimitrov
Inconsolable Netflix star Frances Tiafoe has described a ‘depressing’ Wimbledon defeat to Grigor Dimitrov on Sunday as the worst of his career and said it will stop him celebrating getting into the world’s top 10.
Millions have been gripped by Tiafoe’s story in the Netflix tennis reality show Break Point with the 25-year-old son of Sierra Leone immigrants inspiring a new generation of players in his America.
He shot to fame by reaching the semi-finals in last year’s US Open but expectations of a good run at Wimbledon were shattered as the 10th seed crashed 6-2 6-3 6-2 to Dimitrov in a match that was delayed because of rain after the first two sets were completed on Saturday.
‘This was a really bad match. Horrible, horrible stuff,’ said a downcast Tiafoe afterwards.
American star Frances Tiafoe was left inconsolable by his Wimbledon exit on Sunday
Tiafoe said he has ‘never really felt like this after a loss’ after Grigor Dimitrov defeated him
Tiafoe, the 10th seed at Wimbledon, crashed 6-2 6-3 6-2 to Grigor Dimitrov on Sunday
‘To play this poorly is very depressing, especially at Wimbledon. I genuinely think I am one of the best grass court players in the world but didn’t show it at all. I have to live with that.
‘It will hurt for a very long time. I couldn’t hit the room or make him play. It is tough to digest. I’ve never really felt like this after a loss. I’m shocked by how I performed.
‘I played horrendously and it is unacceptable to get broken that many times on grass.’
Tiafoe has another shot when he returns to New York next month for his home Slam.
He denied being affected by the pressure of his rapid rise to fame but admitted crossing the Atlantic to celebrate his new status among the world’s elite had soured.
As a kid, he often slept in a makeshift room in a tennis club in Maryland where his dad was a maintenance worker.
‘I am already winning in life so my defeat had nothing to do with expectations. I couldn’t care less about that,’ he added.
‘I want to win Slams for me, not for everybody else. It was just a bad performance. It’s tough to understand it, the why of it.
Tiafoe was left furious at the standard of his display, calling it ‘horrendous and unacceptable’
‘I am top 10 in the world and played like I don’t have an ATP point. It was Godawful.
‘It just hurts man and I don’t know how to digest it. I was planning to go home and celebrate being in the top 10. That is going to be tough now.
‘Everyone will be excited to see me and I just won’t want to do anything.’