January 22, 2019
By Sahr Morris Jnr
Making a name for all the reason, American-Sierra Leonean Frances Tiafoe
American-Sierra Leonean Frances Tiafoe is looking forward to creating a further upset in the ongoing Australian Open when he takes on Rafa Nadal today in the quarter-final.
Tiafoe who is the son of immigrants from Sierra Leone has already created an upset in the competition, thanks to a stunning win over Bulgaria’s Grigor Dimitrov last Sunday to reach the last eight for the first time in a major tournament in his career.
The 21-year-old knows he is up for a tough test as he looks forward to keeping the big dream alive, as the Spaniard is yet to drop a set in the tournament.
Tiafoe said: “I told my parents ten years ago I was gonna be a pro tennis player and change their life. Now I’m in the quarter-finals of a Slam. I can’t believe it,” the world number 39 said.
“I played some good matches until that round and now is the moment to keep doing steps forward, to keep having chances.”
For Nadal, the battle against Tiafoe will not be as smooth as anyone may think. “Going to be a tough one, as you can expect in the quarter-finals of a Grand Slam,” Nadal said.
Already the quarter-final match between the two is considered as a match of two unequal opponents, better still David and Goliath.
Tiafoe is looking forward to a huge upset after he has already caused two against higher ranked opponents – against Kevin Anderson and Gigor Dimitrov and this must have given him a lot of confidence going against Nadal.