Marylander Frances Tiafoe turns heads as up-and-coming tennis talent
BALTIMORE -- A Maryland native is the talk of the tennis world.
Frances Tiafoe Jr. ended Rafael Nadal's 22-match Grand Slam winning streak to advance to the U.S. Open quarterfinals for the first time.
Tiafoe's tennis story began in College Park.
He grew up at the Junior Tennis Champions Center. His father was one of the laborers who built the facility.
Eventually, Tiafoe's father became the head custodian and had an office converted into a home for him and his two sons.
Young Tiafoe would wake up with one thing on his mind. Hitting tennis balls.
"He would always go to the wall and start hitting," Tiafoe's former coach Komi Alki said. "Back then he doesn't know what he's doing. He just wants to have fun and hit tennis balls."
But eventually, the kid who didn't know anything grew up and opened his trainer's eyes.
"He won Orange Bowl when he was 15. The biggest junior's tournament in the world," Alki said. "He won that tournament. He was the youngest to win that tournament. That's when I knew this guy was something."
And now, after the biggest win of his career, Tiafoe is inspiring the next generation of tennis players who train alongside him regularly.
"It's crazy knowing one day I'm practicing next to him and the next day he's beating Nadal," RobinMontgomery said. "It's so nice to see things finally fall into place for him. It brings lots of joy and, honestly, I know he's hungry for more."