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The son of a tennis club janitor who fled civil war in Africa, Frances Tiafoe might just be about to live the American dream.
The 24-year-old from Maryland is into the quarter-finals of the US Open, which is guaranteed to have a first-time male Grand Slam winner come Sunday night.
Tiafoe could be that man, after knocking out Rafael Nadal to set up a meeting in the last eight with Russian Andrey Rublev, conqueror of Cam Norrie.
Frances Tiafoe knocked out Rafael Nadal to set up a quarter final clash with Andrey Rublev
The American enjoyed an outstanding junior career after growing up and living at a tennis club, where his father secured a job looking after its upkeep. He recounted his background and how much extra meaning it invested in him beating one of the greatest players ever.
‘I’m a son of immigrants, both parents grew up in Sierra Leone, came to the States early Nineties,’ said Tiafoe. ‘They met here, had me and my twin brother. My dad being a maintenance worker at a club, my mum being a nurse, working two jobs.
‘Us being around tennis was kind of getting out of our neighbourhood. Once we got into tennis, my dad was like, “It would be awesome if you guys can use this as a full scholarship to school”. I mean, we
