Frances Tiafoe didn’t hide his happiness and excitement over Serena Williams finding some time to meet at the US Open as the 26-year-old made sure to let the American tennis icon how much her actions meant to him.
On Saturday, the former 23-time Grand Slam champion showed up at Flushing Meadows and it created a buzz among the fans but also players since many from the current generation grew up watching and idolizing her.
One of those players is world No. 20 Tiafoe, who met the 42-year-old before his round-of-16 match against Alexei Popyrin. During their meeting, Williams decided to give a little pep talk to the 2022 US Open semifinalist but also applaud him for being a good role model for Black kids.
And to hear that from one of the greatest players of all time, it pretty much felt surreal to the 26-year-old American.
“It’s crazy seeing her not playing. It’s still wild. But I mean, you know, for her wanting to come out and talk to me before the match, telling me she’s always following no matter what, telling me ‘it’s so good to see now that I’m done, you’re the guy of color playing and doing well.’ I’m, like, coming from her, that’s a loud sentence. I’m, like, ‘damn.’ That’s really, really cool…
