EXCLUSIVE | American tennis ace talks about collaboration with SA great Wayne Ferreira

Sport24 asked: What has it been like having Wayne Ferreira as your coach?

Frances Tiafoe: It’s been a good partnership so far. (The former ATP top 10 player joined Tiafoe’s coaching team in 2020). I wanted someone who was older than me as a coach and has had the experience of playing tennis at a high level for x amount of time. Wayne is a good vet guy who is one of the legends of the sport. (Ferreira won 15 singles and 11 doubles titles during his career). Wayne is hard on me and is very serious in terms of how I approach the game. He is also really good with tactics and as far as breaking down opponents goes. At this level, everyone hits the ball great stuff out here, so it’s more about the mental side of the game which Wayne has helped me with a lot. I feel like I’m definitely going in the right direction and have matured a lot. I know myself better than when I turned pro in 2015 and have an understanding of how I want to bring my best self every day.

Sport24 asked: What improvements are you looking to make in your game?

Frances Tiafoe: Players who are winning a lot of matches hold serve quite often and I’ve really been working on my serve. And then it’s about how you build consistency and how you bring your best self each and every week. It’s about you being fully there competing, playing great tennis and being present. I think competing and being a tough competitor goes a long way – and those are kind of the main things. In terms of consistency in the sport, I think everyone looks to Rafael Nadal. There are a lot of people who just want to emulate his career. But, for me, it’s within reason because I really want to be myself and not anyone else out there. I’ve recovered from an elbow injury, which took a minute to heal,