Frances Tiafoe reaches US Open quarterfinals with win over Alexei Popyrin, Novak Djokovic's conqueror

NEW YORK—Since when is a set-winning ace anticlimactic? When you do what Frances Tiafoe did to get to that point.

Tiafoe had a capacity crowd inside Arthur Ashe Stadium in the palm of his hands, along with the first set, but his lead had all but slipped away when Alexei Popyrin led the second set 5-2, 40-0. The 6’5” Aussie who somehow made Novak Djokovic look small in the third round was all but in a best-of-three set match—until he lost the next five points. A double fault capped this awful sequence, giving life to Tiafoe and his fans, who were more than willing to try and help their man stage a giant-sized comeback.

Which is exactly what happened. By the time the two reached a tiebreaker, they were level on the set score, but a chasm apart in momentum. When Tiafoe then struck a curling crosscourt forehand pass to take a 3-0 lead, it felt like the entire borough of Queens, rather than the Manhattanite-heavy evening crowd, could be heard at full throat.

Tiafoe was feeling it. He pummeled forehands in the subsequent points, pushed Popyrin back (his return positioning was near the back wall), and even benefitted from another double fault for three set points. Popyrin had those earlier, but the crowd knew Tiafoe wouldn’t give his away. Not even one.

Ace. Applause—though not anything like a few points earlier. Walk to the chair.

What was going through Tiafoe’s head when facing that large deficit?

“I was like, I’m pretty sweaty, I’m sweating through my shoes, I’m gonna go win this in four,” he told Chris Eubanks on court after the match. But when Popyrin gave him one point, Tiafoe thought to himself, “don’t give me two.”

As impressive as that was, so was Popyrin’s response. He was unfazed, and took the third set as if he’d just won the second. It wasn’t until Tiafoe had a 3-2 lead, on serve in the fourth set, that he rekindled the energy which had evaporated. Again, a Popyrin double fault cost the No. 25 seed the game, but only after some more inspired Tiafoe tennis.

A hold at 30 gave Tiafoe a 5-2 lead in the fourth set, and only a Popyrin-esque collapse would prevent him from joining compatriot Taylor Fritz in the quarterfinals. The Montreal champion would force Tiafoe to serve it out, and the people’s champion would do so—but not without some drama.

After a lovely half-volley winner earned Tiafoe two match points, he couldn’t put away a volley on the first chance, and he put a ball into the net on the second. Popyrin even got a look at a forehand pass on break point—but he put it into net.

It was Popyrin’s costliest miss of the evening, as Tiafoe sealed the match two points later for a forehand winner. With his 6-4, 7-6 (3), 2-6, 6-3 win, he moves on to face Grigor Dimitrov, who prevailed in five sets at the start of the day.

That match will also be on Ashe, and that’s more music to Tiafoe’s ears.

“I always dreamt about playing on this court, from a kid…seeing the Williams sisters win titles here, seeing Roger [Federer] win here a million times,” said Tiafoe. “It brings out the best of me.”