US Open: Frances Tiafoe moves into the second round with an easy three-set win over teen Learner Tien
- Frances Tiafoe defeated the youngest player of the entire US Open on Monday
- The world number 10 was frustrated at times, but eventually won comfortably
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A year after his shock semifinal in New York, Frances Tiafoe made the US Open start he wanted when he thwarted the wildcard Learner Ten in three sets on the first day of the tournament.
Tiafoe’s 41 unforced errors suggest he may need to get back to his Grand Slam form, but it was a fairly easy afternoon for the world number one nonetheless. 10, as he won 6-2, 7-5, 6-1.
Tiafoe broke his compatriot in the first game, and that would set the tone for the rest of the game at Arthur Ashe Stadium, in front of a crowd that was determined to pull on him.
The 25-year-old hit thirteen winners in the first set and dominated at the net, regularly forcing his much younger opponent to withdraw.
Ten, only 17, was a finalist at the junior Australian Open earlier this year and only turned pro last month.
Frances Tiafoe won quite easily and advanced to the second round
Wildcard student Tien can hold his head high after frustrating Tiafoe for periods on Monday
And while his US Open is already over, there were some flashes of the former USC Trojan.
He rushed past Tiafoe in a deuce in the third game to avoid being broken on the second ask and cut the score to 2-1.
But Tien would get no closer to his opponent in the first set as Tiafoe reacted to take a 3-1 lead before winning a crucial second break for a 5-2 lead.
After serving for the set, Tiafoe won another break early in the second, this time beating Tien by over five deuces to continue his hot start.
After that it became a bit more restless for the favorite.
Tiafoe lost the next two games on unforced errors before missing the line with a routine forehand winner in the fifth game of the set.
That miss at 30-30, after Tiafoe tied the set in the previous game, helped Tien take a 3-2 lead before finally seeing himself at 4-3.
From there, Tiafoe joined and won the next two games. He shouted something along the lines of “Come on!” when he took the set to 4-4, as Tien could frustrate his opponent, if not the best.
The next game felt like a turning point for Tiafoe, who squandered a 40-0 lead with a chance to break. But he kept his nerve in the deuce and delivered the moment of the game up to that point, scraping a forehand winner over the line after Ten hit the net.
Tiafoe faced a 3–2 and 4–3 deficit in the second set before recovering to win 7–5
He hopes to clean up his performance against his next opponent in New York
However, Ten would hang on to return a break of his own, and was two points off a 6-5 lead after a ferocious left winner down the line for 30-15 in the next game.
Tiafoe managed to come back and survive a deuce for another break, and this time successfully served out the set for what would prove to be an unassailable lead.
Even in his third set winning streak, there were some signs of concern as he again missed a clear winner with the advantage at deuce, trailing 1–0.
He recovered in the next two points to tie the set and eventually win, but there are certainly things to clean up for a player who has been knocked out in the third round of every Grand Slam this year.
Tiafoe will face Sebastian Ofner in the second round.