Frances Tiafoe faces an alarming rankings slide as injury strikes in Cincinnati
Frances Tiafoe is facing up to a rankings nightmare after he was forced to pull out of his match against Holger Rune at the Cincinnati Masters due to injury.
Tiafoe lost in last year’s Cincinnati final against Jannik Sinner and then went all the way to the semi-finals of the US Open a few weeks later.
That means he is defending a whopping total of 1,450 points from the same period last year, which makes up a large bulk of the rankings points currently on his total.
Tiafoe has 2,890 and he will now lose points from his withdrawal in Cincinnati, but the concern must be that he fails to recover in time to play at the US Open.
The American has already dropped down from No 14 to No 17 in the live ATP Rankings and he could slide outside of the top 30 of the ATP Rankings if he fails to recover in time to play in New York.
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The problem appeared to be affecting his lower back and while he tried to carry on his match against Rune, it was clear that the 27-year-old was in real discomfort before he conceded defeat in his battle with his body.
“From 4-4, when I got the break and at 5-4 when he had the medical timeout, that’s when I felt something was not right with him,” said Rune.
“I could see he was struggling a little bit. As the game is, I tried to move him as much as possible. It’s never nice to finish a match like this and I wish him the best recovery.”
Tiafoe’s coaching team appeared to suggest he should try to ‘tough it out’ when he asked for their advice over whether to continue.
He also received a code violation as he allowed his frustrations to boil over, with Tiafoe now facing a race against time to get fit ahead of the US Open.
Tiafoe’s agony was contrasted by a solid performance from Rune, who is eager to leap back into the top 10 of the ATP Rankings ahead of the New York major.
“I had again a little bit of a slow start, but after that I came back quickly, I rise my intensity a lot and I think my timing on the ball was good,” said the Dane.
“I was moving the ball well around. I think in the middle of the first set I started to play very well, actually.
“I also, in the break point, going after my shots and stuff. So we had another good practice like yesterday, fine-tuning a few things. Never nice to finish that way, but just on myself, I’m happy with the level.”
