Frances Tiafoe produced a thrilling comeback against Brandon Nakashima to confirm his place in the Mexico Open final.
Tiafoe has failed to impress so far this year, but he’s now made his first final in 11 months by surviving a scare against Nakashima.
The star lost the first set against his compatriot but he fought back to set up a tantalising final with Flavio Cobolli.
In an incredibly tense semi-final, Tiafoe shared how he came through the match, after admitting to losing his cool at times.
Frances Tiafoe: “I was close to losing my head fully”
Tiafoe is now one step away from winning the biggest ATP title of his career, having fallen in two prior 500 finals.
Speaking about his match with Nakashima, Tiafoe explained: “It’s incredible. The stars definitely aligned. Things started to make sense when I was down, a couple of net cords.
“I made every return at 5-6 [in the second set]. Obviously not feeling the best, but just competing and battling — sometimes you get lucky.
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[I] played great tennis in the third. Never say die. I was ready to empty the tank and see what happens. Keep your head in the moment, keep your head down, and stay locked in.”
Tiafoe said his comeback was extremely difficult and there were plenty of times when he thought he would fail.
“There was some adversity tonight. Not only how I’ve been feeling, obviously, but I thought I did a good job.
“I was close to losing my head fully. I lost it, but I did a good job of staying with it. There was a lot of growth here today to win a match like that.”
Both of the American’s last ATP 500 final defeats came on hardcourts, at the Vienna Open and the Japan Open.
Tiafoe lost to Alexander Zverev in Vienna in 2021 and Taylor Fritz in Tokyo in 2022.
Frances Tiafoe’s last ATP title victory
Tiafoe’s form has been middling over the last few years, which is why you have to go back to 2023 for the American’s last title win.
The American’s victory at the Stuttgart Open in 2023 was the last time he lifted a trophy, after he defeated Jan-Lennard Struff in the final.
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That was Tiafoe’s third ATP title win, following victories at the Delray Beach Open in 2018 and U.S. Men’s Clay Court Championships in 2023.
Tiafoe has lost his last three ATP Tour finals, so he will be hoping to change his unfortunate record in Acapulco.
The American lost back to back finals at the U.S. Men’s Clay Court Championships in 2024 and 2024, as well as the 2024 Cincinnati Open final.
Those three defeats came against Ben Shelton, Jannik Sinner, and Jenson Brooksby.
