Frances Tiafoe’s pursuit of a maiden ATP Masters 1000 title at the Cincinnati Open was ended in the final after he lost to Arthur Fils in three sets.
Tiafoe fell to Fils, 6-3, 1-6, 6-0, having struggled physically during the third and final set.
The American took a medical timeout between sets two and three to address a problem in the area around his right hip, which played a big part in the Frenchman recording a bagel to see the match out.
Do you think Frances Tiafoe is good enough to win a Grand Slam if he fully commits?
Fils became the first French player to win an ATP Masters 1000 title since Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in 2014 at the Canadian Open.
It was the fifth title of his career and his second of 2026, with Fils having won the Barcelona Open earlier in the season.
Frances Tiafoe speaks after losing the Cincinnati Open final
In his speech after winning the title, 22-year-old Fils said he had been watching Tiafoe growing up and that he was one of the players who got him into tennis.
Reacting in his post-match press conference, Tiafoe joked: “I was like, dude, don’t make me feel like I’m Gael Monfils.”
Tiafoe, while still only 28 years old, has been on the ATP Tour for well over a decade, having made his debut at the Washington Open back in 2014, aged just 16.
Where do you rank Ben Shelton on the list of favorites for the US Open title?
He has never won a Grand Slam title…
“No, it’s great,” added Tiafoe. “He’s young and doing so well.
“I’ve been playing for a while and had some good matches when he was in school that he watched.
“I would have loved it if he showed some respect to the elders and let me win today, but he didn’t do that!
“But it’s nice to be in that position. It’s great to see people come up playing and doing so well.”
Frances Tiafoe’s seeding at the 2026 US Open
With the loss in Cincinnati now in the rear-view mirror, Tiafoe will look ahead to the US Open, where he is a former semifinalist.
Tiafoe has reached the final four at Flushing Meadows twice in his career, in 2022 and 2024.
It is the Grand Slam at which he has enjoyed his best results, though last year he crashed out in the third round to Jan-Lennard Struff.
Having risen 11 spots up the ATP rankings to 12th in the world with his run to the final in Cincinnati, Tiafoe will enter the US Open as the 11th seed.
He is the third-highest-ranked American in the draw, behind eighth and ninth seeds Ben Shelton and Taylor Fritz.
Receive exclusive tennis news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
