Frances Tiafoe was straight honest following his US Open third-round exit as the home player admitted to failing to adjust properly to the fast conditions on the Grandstand, and also revealed that he “has not felt this down in a very long time.” Tiafoe, whose lone two Grand Slam semifinals came at the US Open in 2022 and 2024, came to Flushing Meadows this year hoping it would once again provide something great to him. But on Friday, those hopes were squashed after world No. 144 Jan-Lennard Struff ousted the No. 17 seed 6-4 6-3 7-6 (7).

After losing his serve a total of four times across the first two sets, Tiafoe was also 3-5 down in the third set. While the American didn’t quit – and managed to force a tie-break – his bid at a possibly major comeback fell short after he missed out on a set point in the tie-break.

Later in his presser, Tiafoe said that the Arthur Ashe and Louis Armstrong stadiums were easier for him to play on.

Tiafoe: The Grandstand was super quick… I haven’t been this down in a very long time

“I just thought Grandstand was super quick today, and having rallies was very tough. I was late on a lot of balls. The match was kind of always on his racket. I had a little window when he gave me some gifts, and I didn’t take it. I played extremely passive today, and I didn’t put any pressure on him at all,” the home player said.

Tiafoe is now 26-18 on the year, with his last notable result being a French Open quarterfinal outing. Another result worthy of mentioning is his runner-up finish in Houston.“I don’t know how the rest of my season’s going to go. I have no idea. That’s a lot to take in — this is the reality right now. I see Davis Cup, Laver Cup, Tokyo, all those other tournaments, but I don’t know. I don’t know what I’ll do, how I’ll come up, how I’ll play, or how I’ll recover from this. I haven’t been this down for a very, very long time,” Tiafoe admitted.