Frances Tiafoe of Maryland lost Sunday night in the fourth round of the U.S. Open for the second straight year.
Tiafoe, 23, a native of Riverdale in Prince George’s County and a product of the Junior Tennis Champions Center in College Park who is ranked 50th in the world, fell, 4-6, 6-2, 7-6 (6), 6-4, to No. 12 seed Felix Auger-Aliassime, who reached the quarterfinals for the first time with the help of 24 aces.
A year ago, Tiafoe lost in the fourth round, 6-4, 6-1, 6-0, to Daniil Medvedev. His best showing at a major is a quarterfinal appearance at the 2019 Australian Open.
Auger-Aliassime had never reached the final eight at any Grand Slam tournament until Wimbledon in July, a month before he turned 21 on Aug. 8.
Now the Canadian is the youngest man to reach consecutive major quarterfinals since Juan Martin del Potro made it to three straight in 2008-2009.
Auger-Aliassime will go up against unseeded 18-year-old Carlos Alcaraz of Spain on Tuesday for a semifinal berth.
“At some point, age is just a number,” Auger-Aliassime said when asked about Alcaraz. “He already feels like a player that is established.”
