Maryland native Frances Tiafoe is through to the third round of the US Open after a far cleaner outing than his first-round marathon, beating Japanese qualifier Rei Sakamoto 6-3, 7-6(2), 7-5 on Wednesday night at Louis Armstrong Stadium.
The win extended a streak that's now his alone in the men's game — Tiafoe has reached the third round in seven consecutive US Opens, the longest active run on tour. It came with far less drama than his five-set opener against fellow American Martin Damm Jr., though Sakamoto made him work for stretches of it, particularly with a booming serve that had already produced 38 aces in his first-round upset of Aleksandar Vukic. Tiafoe broke early to take the first set, needed a tiebreak to close out the second, and finally pulled away with a break at 6-5 in the third to finish it off.
"I think it's just coming up with the goods when it matters," Tiafoe said. "You kind of get in a flow state, you're just calm and just going. It was good almost to get a little scare there in the first round — you really get going after that."
Tiafoe also broke down why Louis Armstrong Stadium - site of his first two matches - specifically works for him. "It's good energy in there," he said. "Talking to security guys, and I was like, I'm not mad at Louis — I kind of like Louis. It's a vibe in there because everyone's just talking. There's no suites to hide in, people are actually watching the match. Guys are drinking, enjoying it, talking non-stop. It's good energy in a little way. I like it for sure."
Next Up: Tiafoe Faces Monaco's Valentin Vacherot in a Battle of Contrasting US Open Paths
Tiafoe's reward is a third-round matchup Friday against Valentin Vacherot, the No. 22 seed and one of the more unlikely success stories on tour this year. The two have never played each other, on tour or otherwise — Friday will be a first meeting at any level.
Vacherot's rise is worth knowing if you don't already. Six months ago he wasn't ranked inside the top 200; today he sits in the top 20, the first player from Monaco ever to reach that level. The breakthrough came last fall at the Shanghai Masters, where Vacherot entered as a qualifier and won the whole tournament — becoming the lowest-ranked champion of any Masters 1000 event since the format began in 1990. He beat his own first cousin, Arthur Rinderknech, in the final. He carried that momentum into this year with a run to the semifinals at Monte Carlo, his home tournament, upsetting several top-10 players along the way before falling to Carlos Alcaraz.
"Never played him, never practiced with him," Tiafoe said. "One of my boys went to college with him, but I don't really know him like that. Obviously he had the heroic run in Shanghai, and he's had some injuries this year as well, so it's good — it's going to be a good match. I'm excited for it."
"I'll definitely study up in a situation like that when you don't know the player," he said. "Watch some tape, be a student. I'll know a decent amount in a couple days."
Whether that preparation is enough will play out Friday, with a spot in the second week of the tournament on the line for both players.