By Richard Pagliaro | Sunday, June 18, 2023
Frances Tiafoe fought off a championship point edging Jan-Lennard Struff 4-6, 7-6(1), 7-6(8) in a thrilling Stuttgart final to claim his first grass-court crown.
Photo credit: Marijan Murat/Getty
One final lunging leap of faith landed Frances Tiafoe the Stuttgart championship—and a Top 10 spot—in stirring style.
Reaching right, Tiafoe flicked a tremendous stab volley climaxing an electrifying 4-6, 7-6(1), 7-6(8) triumph over German veteran Jan-Lennard Struff in a rousing Stuttgart final.
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An ecstatic Tiafoe dropped to the lawn flat on his back as if bathing in the moment.
Tiafoe fought off a championship point at 6-7 of the final tiebreaker sparking his first career grass-court title.
The US Open semifinalist is truly a champion for all surfaces. Tiafoe, who won Houston on red clay in April, has now won three career titles on three different surfaces. He claimed his first career title on hard court at the 2018 Delray Beach.
It's a monumental moment for Tiafoe, whose title run propels him into the Top 10 for the first time in his career.
Former junior world No. 2 Tiafoe joins buddy and compatriot Taylor Fritz in the ATP Top 10 giving the United States two Top 10 men for the first time since the week of May 7th, 2012 when No. 9 Mardy Fish and No. 10 John Isner occupied two of the Top 10 slots.
On Monday, Tiafoe makes more history becoming the third African-American man to rank in the Top 10 since the inception of the ATP rankings in 1973.
Tiafoe joins Arthur Ashe (debuted on August 23, 1973) and James Blake (debuted on March 20, 2006) as the third African-American man to reach the Top 10. In Miami earlier this year, Miami Open tournament director Blake told Tennis Now Tiafoe is one of his Top 3 favorite ATP players to watch these days.
Madrid finalist Struff was bidding for his maiden major title and nearly pulled it off when he reached championship point in the tiebreaker, but Tiafoe stood tall.
Ultimately, Tiafoe's shotmaking skill, speed around the court, and some riveting running strikes proved to be the difference.
A fierce Tiafoe lasered a brilliant running backhand pass down the line to snatch the second set.
The 25-year-old Tiafoe avenged a painful five-set loss to Struff at the 2020 French Open to improve to 27-9 on the season.