By Chris Oddo | @TheFanChild | Saturday October 30, 2021
Jannik Sinner didn’t take kindly to France’s Tiafoe’s use of the crowd to rally himself on Saturday at the Erste Bank Open in Vienna, but the American says it is part of the game.
"In my opinion Tiafoe went too far today, he did too much,” Sinner said in words translated from Italian after falling to the American, 3-6, 7-5, 6-2. “It's one thing when you put on a show, it's another thing when there's no respect. I don't know what happened, but today I think he went a bit too far."
During his post-match press conference Tiafoe was asked what he thought of Sinner’s comments.
Reporter: “Jannik spoke to us and he said that today it was a little bit too much from you, your show and that was not respectful and he said he was a bit sad about it because he always had to wait for you and he talked to you... and he said he's a big fan of yours but that was too much, what do you think about that?”
Frances Tiafoe: "I don't really feel bad for that. Look I mean the crowd is there for a reason. I'm able to interact with them, I'm able to do whatever. I don't feel bad for that. I think he definitely had a chance to win the match regardless. I used them to get on my side and I started playing great tennis, but ultimately I was just having fun out there and it went my way."
Tiafoe was calm in his breakdown of the events that occurred. He admitted it would be a learning experience for him. He was close to winning the match, regardless of the situation, and could have closed it out, but he lost his way.
"There are limits. In some moments I was ready, but I had to wait for Tiafoe,” he said. “Maybe I should have put pressure on the referee to make him respect the times. But now it's gone."
Tiafoe was down a set and break and was looking for a pick-me-up from the crowd. He found it and created a supercharged atmosphere in Vienna, with the crowd roaring with delight as he fought back to claim the second set and take care of business in the third.
"I wouldn't say it was ugly at all,” Tiafoe said when asked if he felt that he “won ugly” on Saturday. “It was great tennis at the end, but I did a lot of things to get myself over the line. I was very animated with the crowd, I was trying to laugh with Jannik and joke with Jannik, I was doing a bunch of things. At one point it was comical, I was getting my ass kicked, I was like something has to happen, he has to get back to earth eventually, and it ended up working, but my level, I just started having fun. I play the game because I love it and I enjoy playing it, but yes I threw the whole kitchen sink at him today to win the match."
The American will face Alexander Zverev in Sunday’s final at Vienna. He may need the crowd again, as he owns a 1-5 lifetime record against the surging German, who has now won 24 of his last 26 matches.
"Me and Sascha we're great friends, we're gonna battle, they love him out here in this area, so it's going to be tough,” Tiafoe said. "Hell of a serve, great backhand and loads of confidence man. He's winning matches like clockwork. I'm going to have to battle, I'm going to give every last bit of energy I have. I'm tired as hell but you can push for one more match."