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(CNN) — After upsetting 22-time Grand Slam champion Rafael Nadal to reach the US Open quarterfinals on Monday, Frances Tiafoe threw her racket to the ground and covered her face in awe.
It felt like a seminal moment in the 24-year-old American’s career; a culmination of hard work and raw talent that has long been heralded as the potential future of men’s tennis in the country.
Frances Tiafoe celebrates a point against Rafael Nadal at the 2022 US Open.
Now, with Tiafoe reaching the semi-finals by beating Andrey Rublev in straight sets on Wednesday — he has recorded the best result of his career at a Grand Slam — the achievement was made all the more impressive given his humble beginnings.
The crowd at Arthur Ashe Stadium reveled in the play of Tiafoe, the first black American to reach a US Open semifinal since Ashe in 1972. And in a match in which he did not lose a service game to No. 11 in the world, could not disappoint them.
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“I feel at home on pitches like this. This field is incredible. You are with me, you know that I want to play and I want to give my best. I always find a way somehow on this court. I always try to play great tennis and I have,” she said in an on-court interview right after the game. “Let’s enjoy this. We have two more boys. We have two more.”
Tiafoe’s route to tennis has been by no means traditional.
His parents met in the US after leaving Sierra Leone and had twins, Franklin and Frances.
His father, Constant Tiafoe, started working at the Junior Tennis Champions Center in Washington in 1999, eventually moving into one of its empty storage rooms while working 24-hour shifts. His two children sometimes stayed with him, sleeping on a massage table, while his mother worked night shifts as a nurse.
The unusual entry into the sport gave Tiafoe the chance to start developing his skills and after starting training at the facility he did not look back.
“Obviously I wasn’t the rich kid or didn’t have all the new stuff or whatever. But I was just living life. I could play tennis for free, the sport I loved,” he told CNN Sport in 2015, adding that he wouldn’t trade his growth for the world.
He was asked Wednesday what message people should take from his story.
“I mean, anyone can do it, honestly. Obviously that’s a cliché, but I think if you’re really passionate about something… Everybody has a gift,” she said, adding that his passion and obsession is tennis.
Driven by his parents’ work ethic, he won the prestigious Orange Bowl, one of the most prized junior tournaments in tennis, at age 15, becoming the youngest men’s singles champion in the tournament’s history. He joined a list of previous champions that included Roger Federer, Andy Roddick, Ivan Lendl, Jim Courier, John McEnroe and Bjorn Borg.
Tiafoe and his twin brother Franklin play in a fundraising tournament in 2014.
It was a sign of things to come.
Maturation in the circuit
Tiafoe turned pro in 2015 and began to familiarize himself with the rigors of the senior circuit.
He broke into the world top 100 and began to assert himself at Grand Slams, reaching his first quarter-final at the Australian Open in 2019 before losing to Nadal. Three years later, he found himself in another quarterfinal on Wednesday as World No. 26, only this time he felt more ready to seize the opportunity.
“Honestly, when I first came on the scene, I wasn’t mentally prepared enough and mature enough,” he said on court after beating Nadal. “I have been able to develop myself and I have a great team around me.
“I am happy that I won in front of my mom, my dad, my girlfriend and my team and let them see what I did.”
While establishing himself as a contender on the court, Tiafoe is also seeking social justice off it. In 2022, he told CNN Sport that the lack of diversity in the sport had made him feel like an “outsider,” and he vowed to keep fighting for equality as long as he still had the platform to do so.
He made a protest video in 2022 to raise awareness of racial injustices after the death of George Floyd sparked demonstrations around the world.
In collaboration with a host of black players and coaches, including Serena Williams and Coco Gauff, he posted the “Rackets Down, Hands Up” video to his social media channels.
“Are we going to help everyone? Of course not, but I’m definitely going to help as many people as I can. That is my duty,” he told CNN Sport at the time.
Tiafoe reached the Australian Open quarterfinals in 2019, but was beaten by Nadal.
His performances have even garnered the attention of some of the biggest names in the sport, with NBA star LeBron James congratulating Tiafoe on reaching the quarterfinals.
“Thank you big brother. We have more work to do,” Tiafoe responded on Twitter.
But make no mistake, this is not an overnight success story. It is the product of thousands of hours of work and a mindset that will not take no for an answer.
Yet while the weight of a nation rests on his shoulders, Tiafoe has always focused on making his parents proud.
“With all their effort, I felt like I didn’t want to let them down,” he told CNN Sport in 2015. “I felt like I didn’t want to let opportunities go.”
On Wednesday, his coach, Wayne Ferreira, said Tiafoe’s story is the stuff of film, but he needs to win the US Open or another Grand Slam first.
“You only get movies if you do it right,” he said. “But his story is unique, and it’s a great story. And he is very humble. He is a very, very, very nice person. With a very good heart and kind. You have to love it. He is truly special.”
CNN’s Jacob Lev, Steve Almasy, Jill Martin, Will Edmonds and Christina Macfarlane contributed to this report.
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