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Frances Tiafoe Has Them Talking About Tennis in Freetown, Sierra Leone

Tiafoe, whose parents emigrated from the war-torn country before he was born, is the youngest American man to reach a U.S. Open quarterfinal in 16 years, and he has enough talent for two nations.

Frances Tiafoe’s career has been defined by high expectations, plateaus, self-analysis and improvement.Credit...Angela Weiss/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

In the stadiums and sports clubs of Freetown, Sierra Leone, soccer is the favorite topic. But on Tuesday, several hours after Frances Tiafoe, a son of two Sierra Leonean émigrés, beat Rafael Nadal to reach the quarterfinals of the U.