THE CHAMPIONSHIPS

July 2, 2025

Frances Tiafoe

Press Conference

C. NORRIE/F. Tiafoe

4-6, 6-4, 6-3, 7-5

THE MODERATOR: Questions for Frances.

Q. What do you feel like changed for you the most after the first set compared to the last three? What did you find in your level in those latter sets?

FRANCES TIAFOE: You see me just now in a 4-All game, Love-40. It was two shots I had in open space where I picked them, I guess, right and didn't make either of them. I think that was a huge turning point. I think I broke in the following game.

I though his intensity and belief went much higher, and he played much better. I didn't play as aggressive after that, but he played much better. I thought it was a really, really big turning point because if I made one of those shots, he was not going to get to any of them, and I would have been serving for two sets to love up.

It changed actually a lot.

Q. Curious about those shots. It looked almost like they were bad luck in the way that...

FRANCES TIAFOE: 100%. It was all bad luck, yeah. It is what it is. I don't know how --

Q. It kind of came at an awkward --

FRANCES TIAFOE: He hit it long, and he hit it wide. Yeah, it was tough. It could go anywhere in the court, and the point is over. So that was hard.

Q. Was it just hard to get those out of your mind as you moved on, or...

FRANCES TIAFOE: Yeah, after I get broken there 5-4, and then you find yourself down an early break in the third you're, like, Wow, this could have went totally different. You try to move on.

Q. Do you feel like the crowd, as well, played into it, because normally when you play here, the Brits are really backing you, but obviously you're facing a Brit on a show court, as well. They were really cheering for Norrie. Did that get to you?

FRANCES TIAFOE: No, it didn't bother me. I mean, he was super amped. He was saying, C'mon, from the first game, which is definitely annoying, but that part bothered me more than the crowd.

But, no, I mean, I think the biggest thing is that he kept going and playing much better because of the crowd. I don't think he probably plays as well if the crowd wasn't so far behind him.

I mean, they really pushed him, and he started believing it.

Q. It seemed like you're changing up your return position a little bit throughout the match, I was noticing. Was that something that you were doing during the match? Were you finding it hard to read his serve when you were returning?

FRANCES TIAFOE: I don't think he served that well in a really long time. He served 75, some stupid percent. I hardly got looks the second set. Yeah, I was trying to move around a little bit, but yeah.

I was shocked how well he served today. Never really seen him serve like that.

Q. Overall it's been a pretty good level for you this summer, including Paris, obviously. How are you feeling going to probably the most important part of your season in the U.S., starting with Washington?

FRANCES TIAFOE: I'm extremely disappointed right now, but I definitely like the way I still played. I thought I competed really well. I had much higher hopes here for Wimbledon. I wanted to do really well here at Wimbledon, but it happens.

I'm excited to get back, back home, to D.C. I had a great tournament last year, so planning on doing the same in the U.S. swing. We'll see what happens, but yeah, right now it's obviously tough to look to that right now.

Q. Is it going to feel different with Washington coming earlier in the calendar because of the expansion of Canada and Cincinnati?

FRANCES TIAFOE: At first I thought it was going to be weird because I was playing on going deep in Wimbledon. Now I don't think it's going to make a difference for me. I have a ton of time to get ready.

Q. A lot of top seeds have lost early. Is that just a depth thing? Just trying to kind of explain it.

FRANCES TIAFOE: I mean, grass is a tricky surface. The game is getting much deeper. You have to think, not so long ago Cam made the semifinals here, and now I'm playing him the second round.

You have floaters like that, and then you have some young guys playing well. The game is just really tough. It's not like how it used to be where you can kind of, I mean, quote, unquote, get to your seedings easier.

Now a lot of guys you don't even know come out and play, and by the time you know it you find yourself battling deep in the fourth and fifth.

Yeah, I mean, the game has incredible depth right now. If you're not ready to go, you're going to lose. It seems like guys weren't ready to go, ready to play.