‘I just felt off’: Frances Tiafoe upset by Terence Atmane in DC Open first-round stunner

Another promising opportunity for Frances Tiafoe to shine in his hometown tournament ended in stunning and disappointing fashion in the first round late Monday.

The sixth-seeded Tiafoe was upset in three sets by Terence Atmane of France 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 in the nightcap of the first day of the DC Open.

“My respect to him for winning the match, but very, very poor from my side. I thought I helped him get over the line today, for sure,” Tiafoe said. “A lot of mistakes. A lot of easy mistakes, especially on my backhand. Really poor performance in the last two sets from me.”

The Hyattsville native’s earliest exit at the tournament since a 2019 first-round loss to Alexander Bublik came at the hands of world No. 56 Atmane, who got his first win in four tries against Tiafoe — with all four meetings coming this year.

“I think mentally I was trying to say to myself, to convince myself, that this time was the good one,” Atmane said. “After losing three times straight against Frances with three very big battles [in Dallas, Miami and at Wimbledon], I was just trying to stay locked in, trying to do my thing, and just trying to truly believe that I could get it, that I could get this win. I think that’s the reason why I’m here tonight.”

After coaching and other changes to his team, Tiafoe had entered the tournament playing some of his best tennis in recent years, including two ATP final appearances this season and a win at the 500-level event in Halle. Instead, the frustrating loss leaves him searching for answers just as the hard-court season ramps up.

“I’ve never performed [here] how I have today. I was flat. Just wasn’t good enough. You know, give him credit, but I definitely helped him over the line,” Tiafoe said. “Especially for the year that I’ve been having, super disappointing. Honestly, that’s all I can really say. I had a lot of high hopes. Yeah, this one hurts a lot.”

The D.C. area is Tiafoe’s home, but Atmane said he’s equally comfortable stateside as he is in France.

“I always feel at home when I play in the U.S. I don’t know why. It’s just a great feeling for me to play in front of American people. They’re here to see a battle. They’re here to see a show,” Atmane said. “The same way that the French Open is very important for me … I was just trying to really stay focused because I knew that he could be a little bit more tight than usual because it’s his hometown.”

Tiafoe won the only break in the first set, which came in the third game. After earning the opportunity with an overhead winner to go up 40-30, Atmane sent a backhand into the next on the following point, allowing Tiafoe to take a 3-1 lead.

Tiafoe had to fight off Atmane’s ability to paint the T with power and precision on his first serves, with the Frenchman pumping arcing balls sometimes upwards of 130 mph.

“I just felt off, making a lot of mistakes. Especially when he played high balls out of my range, I was missing a lot. Especially on my backhands, missed a lot of balls, backhands in the net, and long,” Tiafoe said.

Atmane had a chance to break back with a 30-0 lead down 3-4, but Tiafoe won the next four points to hold, 5-3. He’d win the set on his next service game, holding at love and cranking two aces, including the decisive point.

“I think if I serve well, I play well,” Tiafoe said. “Served pretty well at the end of the first, and after that it was really patchy. Had a lot of looks at seconds. And where he took cuts, he played the right way on those points.”

Tiafoe won the set via his ability to keep points short, with 19 of his 29 points in the first coming on rallies of four shots or less. When points started to stretch longer in the second and third sets, the advantage shifted to Atmane.

“The second set and third set, I was just trying to put a little bit more [on the] balls, trying to play deep, to play heavy, and just to try to grab opportunities, but without forcing them,” Atmane said. “Just trying to wait for the good one.”

After staying on serve through the first seven games, Atmane converted the only break point for either man in the set, with Tiafoe committing two unforced errors trailing 15-30 to give his serve, and eventually the set, away.

In the deciding set, the two traded breaks of serve early — Atmane gaining the advantage in the second game, with Tiafoe taking it right back in the third.

But Atmane ramped up his power on his forehands, beating Tiafoe’s back and breaking him at love in the penultimate game of the match before successfully serving for the win.

“I was just trying to say to my coach, and the coach was saying back, that the only goal that I had in that game was trying to be more hungry than him about winning this game especially,” Atmane said. “I was just really ready to die on that game to win every single point. I think that’s what worked for me.”

Tiafoe is still scheduled to be on court this week, as he’ll team with two-time Washington champion Nick Kyrgios of Australia in a doubles match Tuesday night against Portugal’s Francisco Cabral and American JJ Tracy.