In the hunt to be the first American to end the Grand Slam drought, Frances Tiafoe is hoping to channel the Knicks’ championship energy while he’s in Flushing Meadows.
Tiafoe advanced to the third round of the U.S. Open, defeating Rei Sakamoto in three sets in front of noted celebrity Knicks fan Ben Stiller on Wednesday night, and was asked afterward about the noticeable number of fans wearing Knicks gear at this year’s tournament.
Tiafoe, whose sporting allegiance lies with the Washington, D.C. teams, first pretended not to know who the Knicks were before suggesting he hoped to use some of their positive vibes to help him in this year’s U.S. Open.
“Hopefully I can go off that Knicks energy, even though I’m a huge DC Sports fan. That was nuts, man. What a run. Happy for them,” Tiafoe said.
He said that he had reached out to Stiller, a fan of Tiafoe’s and has previously been spotted at events cheering him on, to congratulate him on the Knicks’ victory.
“I texted them to say congrats to them. Yeah, I mean these guys were going to San Antonio and everything, so they were really locked in. It was great, man,” Tiafoe added.
The 28-year-old couldn’t let the moment pass to make one bold prediction about his Wizards, though.
“But Wizards will win the ‘ship next year, so it’s cool,” Tiafoe said.
Tiafoe is one of several American players whom tennis fans have pinned their hopes on to win a Grand Slam title in Queens for the first time since Andy Roddick in 2003.
He will face Valentin Vacherot in the third round and said that he has not played him yet in his career.
In terms of preparation, his plan is simple.
Watch some tape, be the student,” Tiafoe said. “Watching runs, see who he has played, what have you. I’ll know a decent amount in a couple of days.”
