One does not get beauty points by winning a tennis match. Maybe a player is more beloved over time by playing an entertaining style of the sport, but ultimately, that doesn't matter. One wins a match, as Frances Taifoe did in the first round of the 2025 US Open, any way they can.
The American was far from perfect. He had far too many unforced errors against an opponent, Yoshihito Nishioka, whom he should have easily overpowered. But one cannot be at one's best all the time. Tiafoe can save that for later matches. He just needed to push through in round one.
The odd part was that Yoshihito Nishioka appeared to get easily upset with himself. He even had a conduct penalty because of his odd behavior. What made it even stranger was that the Japanese player is 29 years old and has never won at a high level. His anger bordered on arrogance.
Frances Tiafoe reaches the second round of the 2025 US Open
And against a lesser player, Nishioka might have been OK. But Frances Tiafoe is not a lesser player. He has been ranked in the top 10 and is very capable of getting back to that level again. The only struggle in the match came from the American's lack of perfection instead of the Japanese player being elite.
The score will show that Tiafoe won in straight sets 6-3 7-6 6-3, but the match was tighter than that. Plus, Nishioka had beaten Tiafoe before, so he had some confidence entering the match. But Tiafoe's 19 aces were far too much for the Japanese player, even though the American landed just 52 percent of his first serves.
Frances Tiafoe has told Lob and Smash recently that his favorite tournament is the US Open. To win in New York would be a dream. He still has a chance to win the US Open in 2025. He will next play 6'8" 21-year-old American Martin Damm. Tiafoe has the advantage, but he should be ready to handle some speedy serves.