I have fun when it's the right time to have fun, but when I lock in for practice and matches, I'm not worried about fun.
— Frances Tiafoe
I just want to be great.
I try to treat everyone with love and respect. If you do that, you get the same back, if not more.
My parents were hardworking and still are. Everything I do is for them and the family.
I'm a pretty good problem solver.
My mom, she wanted me to go to college and then after that you could do what you want.
I want young kids to play tennis because of me.
It was not until I got sponsored at 12 that I finally owned a racket.
I was born into a poor family but my family's good. I'm good and I'm going to do something great.
I know it's a cliche to say, 'There isn't anything you can't do if you believe,' but that's something I subscribe to, even if it's corny.
Since I was like eight, I always wanted to be playing pro tennis.
I don't let it get to my head because there have been plenty of good juniors that haven't made it to the big stage.
It's hard to win Grand Slams.
USTA helps me out a lot, the Tennis Center. I can't thank them enough.
You start to take those opportunities when you do get a wildcard, but also you're allowed to say no - just because you get a wildcard doesn't mean you have to say yes. Some weeks I think its OK to take a wildcard, some weeks its not.
Davis Cup helped me a lot. Being in that great atmosphere and having the chance to hit with top 50 guys everyday, being on the practice courts, that gave me a lot of confidence.
I mean, sometimes you have to go to work.
It's Roger Federer - this guy has about a million Grand Slams and done everything.
My academy did a great job of getting my story out there for people to hear about me, get interested and wanted to fund me.
You can't forget your roots.
Love the people that want to support you, love the people who are there for you, because you definitely earned that right.
As far as myself, I want to see myself hold a Grand Slam, be at the top of the game.
People in tennis, they've been in a certain bubble for so long they don't even know who they are, because obviously it's just been tennis, tennis, tennis. And let it be just tennis, tennis, tennis. Be locked into that. But when tennis is done, then what? It's kinda like: Let's enjoy being great at the sport.
The thing is, everybody wants to be famous. Everybody wants to be successful. Everybody wants to be that dude, but not everybody wants to do the work for it. And I think that's probably one of the reasons why there's so many juniors and only a couple that make it. Because I really wanted it. I wanted it real bad.
When I met Jay-Z and Beyonce I was in awe, stuttering like crazy. This guy grew up in the projects and he and Beyonce are a billionaire couple. The empires they've built, affecting so many lives, is unbelievable.
My mom actively did not want me to play professionally.
When I told people that I wanted to grow up to be a tennis player, they laughed at me. My dad has always been supportive, but he was laughing, too.
I think Kevin Durant being that humble is huge.
Hopefully my era can help build the game.
Playing in a main draw Grand Slam is something you dream about as a kid.
Some days, obviously, I am like 'Today is not the day,' but you got to push through, especially when my aspirations are to be pro, you can't have any bad days.
I think my serve and trying to come forward a little more are what I need to work on.
I'm pretty close with a majority of the black tennis players.
I just wanted to play and play and play. When everyone left, I'd stay on the court and hit serves or play against the wall.
I've played so many matches in my career so far where I played unbelievable, came up just short.
I had a lot of Pokemon Pikachu t-shirts on court and hand-me-downs from other kids.
I don't think our priority should be on immigrants. Obviously, they come to the States for a better life, so the last thing they want to do is rob a bank or do something bad.
I want to win titles like Delray and even bigger.
There was always a purpose in what I did on the court because at the end of the day, my parents, they sacrificed for me and my brother. I had to do it for them.
I want to really change people's lives with what I do for a living.
He's an absolute icon. Everything he brings, how he carries himself. Never having trouble with the media, never done anything wrong. He's a superstar for a reason. He's LeBron James for a reason.
Serena's arguably the best athlete of all time, so getting to know her was surreal.
The U.S. Open is so special, and I'm not even saying that as an American. I just can't envision a better atmosphere.
While turning pro had a lot of upside, for me, it could also have turned out to be a disaster.
I don't want to be playing on Court 17 for the rest of my life.
There are a bunch of young players coming up and doing incredible stuff.
Being the number one seed, you're thinking you don't want to lose in the second round.
All these pros are getting better every day. You just want to catch up to them.
From the ground, I'm pretty solid from both sides. My form really helps me a lot and my backend complements it.
It doesn't really matter who I turn pro with. What matters is where I take my tennis.
