American Frances Tiafoe is good on the hardcourt and the hardwood
When Taylor Fritz broke through for "Team America" last year to get that long-awaited men's singles title at the BNP Paribas Open, it seemed to be a breakthrough not just for him but for the rest of the American men.
The top American men seem to be playing a little more freely this year without that monkey on their back. While Fritz and Tommy Paul have been playing, Frances Tiafoe has gone a bit under the radar, but keep an eye on "Big Foe."
He has mowed through his first two opponents without breaking a sweat — beating Marcos Giron 6-2, 6-2 and Jason Kubler 6-3, 6-2 — and he is the beneficiary of some good fortune in his part of the draw. No. 2 seed Stefanos Tsitsipas was eliminated earlier, so Tiafoe's Round of 16 match will be against Chilean qualifier Alejandro Tabilo.
We all know Tiafoe can play some tennis, but did you know he can also play some basketball? Tiafoe lived out a dream last month when he got to play in the celebrity part of the NBA All-Star Game. He scored four points including a mid-range jumper over former NBA star Richard Jefferson which drew some oohs and aahs.
"I think I will just go out there and have fun, I mean I don't want to look dumb, that's why I've been training the past couple weeks," Tiafoe said before the game. "But it is about just having fun and obviously All-Star Weekend everyone is there, you meet so many cool people and people that I've been fans of forever."
For the record, Tiafoe was on the winning Dwyane Wade team coached by Giannis Antetokounmpo. He's continuing those winning ways in Indian Wells this year. It's possible he can make it two years in a row for an American in Indian Wells, but it's no slam dunk.
Shad Powers is a columnist for The Desert Sun. Reach him at shad.powers@desertsun.com.
This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: BNP Paribas Open: American Frances Tiafoe is good on hardcourts and the hardwood
