American Youngster Frances Tiafoe Stuns Kevin Anderson at Australian Open

Frances Tiafoe at Australian Open, day 1. Photo by Juergen Hasenkopf/REX/Shutterstock (10056050ab)

Youngster Frances Tiafoe dug deep at the Australian Open on Wednesday to stun No 5 seed Kevin Anderson in four sets for his biggest career win.

The 20-year-old American overcome a 4-6 first set loss to beat the South African 6-4, 6-4, 7-5 in one of the best matches at the ongoing Australian Open so far.

“I went to a different place. I dug insanely deep,” Tiafoe said. “It’s all about competing. Guys are so good. It’s just about how badly you want it. I want it real bad.”

In the same night, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal overpowered their opponents Dan Evans and Matt Ebden in straight sets to qualify for the round of 32. An injury in Anderson’s right arm certainly helped Tiafoe emerge victorious. It didn’t matter though as the win gave the 20-year-old a much needed victory.

Tiafoe was a nine-game losing streak prior to Wednesday. He lost all his matches at the Hopman Cup, including the three mixed doubles he was paired with Serena Williams. His losing streak continued at the Next Gen ATP Finals before clinching a win this week.

Wednesday also say another American youngster, Taylor Fritz, upset France’s Gael Monfils in four sets. However, Mackenzie Macdonald, lost to last year’s finalist Marlin Cilic.