On Thursday, American Francis Tiafoe caused a stir when he defeated Poland’s Hubert Hurkasz in five sets in the second round of the French Open. After winning 6-7, 7-6, 6-4, 6-7, 6-4, the 19th-seeded Tiafoe greeted a crowd of jubilant fans at Roland Garros after clinching the victory with a forehand winner on break, set and match point.
Tiafoe jumped up and down with the crowd and hugged fans. He came out of the embrace without a racket.
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Immediately after soaking Harkas and shaking hands with the referee, Tiafoe took off his shirt and let out a roar. The 28-year-old two-time US Open semi-finalist continued to capture the moment, bending over to a symphony of cheers and whistles.
Tiafoe defeated Furkas in a grueling match that lasted four hours and 43 minutes during the heatwave that hit Paris this week.
He then started looking for the racket he had lost in the euphoric chaos on social media.
“The atmosphere on Court 14 today was unreal,” Tiafoe wrote on his Instagram Story after the game Thursday. “But I have to say to the fan who took my racket the last time I was celebrating with you all. Can you give it back to me…I’ll give you two tickets to the next game.”
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After explaining the exchange process, Tiafoe ended her message by writing, “Thank you for all your love.”
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Later, in an interview with TNT Sports, Tiafoe said he had secured the racket. He explained to the TNT crew that while walking off the court, he suddenly realized that he was missing something.
“I was like, ‘Wait, I think I got hit by a racket,'” he said.
Tiafoe laughed and continued: “I was like, ‘I think a fan got my racket.’
He explained that someone on his team asked if he wanted to post on Instagram to get it. Tiafoe thought it was funny and agreed.
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“We get it here. We don’t get it in America,” he said of his thinking before going on IG.
As TNT showed in slow motion, the culprit was the woman who confiscated the racket. Celebrating his victory and relying on his sense of humor, Tiafoe took the whole situation calmly.
He revealed that he travels with eight rackets. So why is this so important?
“I mean, that won us the game,” he said, drawing laughs from the press desk.
Tiafoe will face Portugal’s Jaime Faria in the third round on Saturday. With world number one Jannik Sinner already sidelined and rival Carlos Alcaraz out with a wrist injury, spots are becoming increasingly open at Roland Garros.
