Frances Tiafoe hits out at 'annoying' Cam Norrie after Wimbledon upset
Frances Tiafoe was dumped out of Wimbledon by Cameron Norrie, and the American had some strong words for the Brit following his surprise second-round exit
Frances Tiafoe has expressed his annoyance with Cameron Norrie's behavior during their second-round match at Wimbledon. British player Norrie, who reached the semifinals in 2022 but has since slipped down the rankings, managed to upset the 12th seed Tiafoe with a 4-6, 6-4, 6-3, 7-5 victory on Wednesday.
After joining Coco Gauff on the Wimbledon sidelines, Tiafoe didn't hold back, suggesting that Norrie's performance was boosted by the home crowd advantage.
Tiafoe knew that the Court 1 audience would be rooting for Norrie. However, it wasn't the crowd that bothered him, but rather some of Norrie's antics on court.
- John McEnroe urges Wimbledon star to retire immediately after speaking with his wife
- Emma Raducanu 'love triangle' with two male tennis superstars teased
"No, [the crowd] didn't bother me. I mean, he was super amped. He was saying, C'mon, from the first game, which is definitely annoying, but that part bothered me more than the crowd," Tiafoe remarked.
"But, no, I mean, I think the biggest thing is that he kept going and playing much better because of the crowd. I don't think he probably plays as well if the crowd wasn't so far behind him."
"I mean, they really pushed him, and he started believing it."
While Tiafoe acknowledged Norrie's strong serving performance, he couldn't resist another jab, stating that such a performance was unusual for the British player.
The 27-year-old added, "I don't think he served that well in a really long time. He served 75, some stupid percent. I hardly got looks in the second set.
"Yeah, I was trying to move around a little bit, but yeah. I was shocked how well he served today. Never really seen him serve like that."
DON'T MISS
Wimbledon has been rife with upsets this year, seeing a staggering 23 of the 64 seeds in the men's and women's singles draws ousted in the first round - this equals an existing record.
Post his second-round upset at Wimbledon, Frances Tiafoe weighed in on the unexpected outcomes.
"I mean, grass is a tricky surface. The game is getting much deeper. You have to think, not so long ago Cam made the semifinals here, and now I'm playing him the second round," he said.
"You have floaters like that, and then you have some young guys playing well. The game is just really tough. It's not like how it used to be where you can kind of, I mean, quote, unquote, get to your seedings easier.
"Now a lot of guys you don't even know come out and play, and by the time you know it you find yourself battling deep in the fourth and fifth. Yeah, I mean, the game has incredible depth right now. If you're not ready to go, you're going to lose. It seems like guys weren't ready to go, ready to play."
