JTCC alumnus to play for Washington Kastles in July
#5 seed Frances Tiafoe successfully came through the final round of qualifying at the Miami Open ATP World Tour Masters 1000 event in Key Biscayne, FL with a 4-6, 6-4, 6-4 win over Frenchman Mathias Bourgue.
In a featured match on a stadium court, Tiafoe will face world #103 Russian Konstantin Kravchuk in the first round today.
Tiafoe’s “reward” for a victory over Kravchuk would be a second round encounter with 18-time Grand Slam champion Roger Federer. Tiafoe has never previously faced a current top 10 player.
The 19-year-old became the youngest player in the top 100 in the world in January reaching a career high of #86 following his first ever Grand Slam main draw win over Mikhail Kukuskin of Kazakhstan at the Australian Open.
The Washington Kastles, six-time WTT champions, announced the signing of Tiafoe on Tuesday for the 2017 season. The College Park, MD native will represent his hometown during the entire first week of the season including on four consecutive nights at Kastles Stadium at the George Washington University Smith Center from July 18-21.
“Frances is making rapid progress in 2017,” said Frank Salazar, JTCC Senior Director of High Performance, who coached Tiafoe during his junior career. “He ought to be full of confidence after two hard fought wins in qualifying. He has a fantastic opportunity to earn a chance to play the greatest player of all time.”
Frances Tiafoe serving on his way to victory in Miami Open Qualifying
