Francis Tiafoe described himself as “wild” after NBA superstar LeBron James complimented him on his US Open triumph over Rafael Nadal.
Tiafoe, 24, defeated four-time champion Nadal 6-4, 4-6, 6-4, 6-3 on Monday to go to his first-ever Flushing Meadows quarterfinal.
James sent Tiafoe a tweet following his victory that read, “CONGRATS Young King!!! You deserve it!”
When asked about James’ message of congratulations, Tiafoe informed reporters, “I lost it in the locker room.” I was losing my mind. That is my man.”
Tiafoe, a Maryland native, adding that he hesitated before retweeting James’ remark because he didn’t want to appear overly enthusiastic.
“I was like, ‘Do I retweet it as soon as he sent it?’ “I thought to myself, ‘I’ll be cool and pretend I didn’t see it, and then retweet it three hours later,'” he explained.
Later, he responded to James’ tweet by writing, “Thanks, big bro……we’ve got more work to do.”
—LeBron James (@KingJames) on Twitter
September 5, 2022
Tiafoe’s victory over Nadal was his first; in their previous two meetings, Nadal prevailed.
“Today, something extraordinary occurred,” the 24-year-old claimed in court.
“I’m at a loss for words, I’m so delighted. He is one of the greatest of all time, and my performance was phenomenal.”
This was Nadal’s first loss of the year at a Grand Slam tournament. He was the Australian Open and Wimbledon champion.
The 36-year-old Nadal stated, “The difference is clear: I played a poor performance and he played a terrific match.”
“I was unable to maintain a high level of tennis for an extended period. My motions were not sufficiently swift. Early on, he was able to take the ball too frequently, so I was unable to push him back.
“Tennis is a positional sport. You must be really young and extremely swift. I am no longer in that moment.”
Nadal noted that it is uncertain when he will return to the court.
“I need to return. The 22-time Grand Slam champion stated, “I need to fix things, life, and then I do not know when I will return.”
Wednesday, Tiafoe meets ninth-seeded Russian Andrey Rublev for a spot in the semifinals.