Frances Tiafoe shed tears of joy after claiming his first title in Delray Beach.
The 20-year-old Tiafoe is the youngest American man to win an ATP title since a 19-year-old Andy Roddick won the 2002 Houston crown.
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Tiafoe's family is a primary source of inspiration.
His father, Frances Tiafoe, Sr., fled with his family from war-torn Sierre Leon to Maryland where he helped build the Junior Champions Tennis Center in College Park and later became head of maintenance there. Frances and twin brother Franklin both learned to play there.
Tiafoe said disparate personalities of rivals Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal taught him a valuable lesson: be true to yourself.
World No. 1 Federer has beaten Tiafoe in all three encounters, including a pulsating five-set win at the 2017, US Open in an experience that reinforced Tiafoe's belief in the power of individual expression.
"Everyone has their own style. Everyone has their own personality," Tiafoe told the media after the Delray Beach Open final. "I'm very different than other tennis players. I show emotions when I lose the point. I get real pumped up. I get really excited. I got my own swagger out there. I feel like it's good. People see something different. That everyone can be their own person is a great quality of tennis.
"Obviously, you have Rafa who's going nuts after some points. You have Fed who don't say a word, you think he's not even trying and it's freaking annoying. So yeah, everyone has their own personality and I think it's good."
Though he knocked off NextGen stars Hyeon Chung and Denis Shapovalov en route to the title breakthrough, Tiafoe laughed at suggestions he's the main man among the talented young lions on tour.
I wouldn't say I'm 'The Guy'," Tiafoe said with a chuckle. "You've got Sasha (Zverev), who's only a year older than me and he's four in the world. So I wouldn't say I'm 'The Guy' but I'm definitely headed that way.
"I'm just happy there's quite a lot of us so I'm not alone in this process at all. I'm still nowhere near playing (my best). There's still so many things I can work on, so many things I can get better with, which is only a positive. I'm still young. I just want to keep working hard and getting better and in a couple of years is when I really want to start peaking for Grand Slams and stuff like this. It's all a process."
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