Frances Tiafoe secured a hard fought win 7-5, 7-6(6) eliminating #18 seed David Goffin in the round of 16 at the Miami Open ATP Tour Masters 1000 event on Tuesday.
After taking the first set, the 21-year-old maintained his focus during a two-hour rain delay that interrupted play with the score tied at 4-4 in the second set. Throughout the match, Tiafoe constantly applied pressure to Goffin’s serve breaking the former world #7 on four occasions in front of a vocal crowd supporting the American on the Grandstand court.
Tiafoe’s victory marks the first time he has reached the quarterfinals at an ATP Masters 1000 tournament and comes just two months after his run to his maiden Grand Slam last eight appearance at the Australian Open in Melbourne.
The JTCC alumnus will face fellow ATP NextGen star Denis Shapovalov on Thursday. He defeated his Canadian counterpart in the 2018 Delray Beach Open semifinals on the way to his first ATP Tour title.
By reaching the quarterfinals in Miami, Tiafoe is guaranteed to return to his previous career high #29 in the ATP world rankings, and if he progresses to the semifinals, he will break into the top 25 for the first time.
“Frances’s continued ascent is very inspiring to watch,” said Vesa Ponkka, JTCC Senior Director of Tennis. “He is regularly back at JTCC in between tournaments to train and is acting as a great role model for all our current players. His physical and mental toughness is inspirational for us all.”
