ATP Tour

Frances in five! Tiafoe topples Damm in US Open thriller

American Frances Tiafoe survived a five-set scare at the US Open, edging countryman Martin Damm in an opening-round clash that spilled into the early hours of Tuesday morning. The 11th seed was victorious 6-4, 4-6, 3-6, 6-3, 6-4.

With four-time champion Novak Djokovic and Cincinnati tiltist Arthur Fils among the seeds in the bottom half of the draw to have already fallen, two-time semi-finalist Tiafoe looked in danger of being the next to exit New York.

But Tiafoe, who arrived at his home Slam off the back of a final appearance at the ATP Masters 1000 event in Cincinnati, remained composed to overcome Damm’s free-swinging firepower and the lefty's 28 aces after three hours and 48 minutes.

“You can’t win the tournament in the first round, but you can for sure lose it, so I’m happy to see another day," Tiafoe said in his on-court interview.

Dressed in a bright pink kit, the 28-year-old brought the Louis Armstrong Stadium crowd to its feet on several occasions, including after a ridiculous drop-shot pickup while clinging to his break lead in the decider. Tiafoe clinched the victory at 12:50 a.m. local time, improving to 2-0 in his Lexus ATP Head2Head series with Damm. The pair also met at Flushing Meadows last year in the second round.

"The last two sets I just wanted to be tough. I was like, ‘If I can get one break and take care of my serve, I’m still in it’," Tiafoe said. "I’ve won a lot of matches I shouldn’t have this year, and today is a testament of that.”

Tiafoe will next play Japanese qualifier Rei Sakamoto, who also won in five sets. Sakamoto, fourth in the PIF ATP Live Next Gen Race, defeated Aleksandar Vukic 6-4, 6-7(5), 6-4, 3-6, 6-4.

Damm, 22, was aiming for his second Top 20 win in two weeks, having defeated Daniil Medvedev at the Winston-Salem Open just six days ago.