Some newfound star power is putting Brooklyn back in style. Even in Queens.
First, Frances Tiafoe nearly pulled off a U.S. Open upset of No. 6 Alexander Zverev, the German pulling out a 6-3, 3-6, 6-2, 2-6, 6-3 second-round win. Then Tiafoe rocked a black Nets road jersey to his post-match press conference, honoring Kevin Durant.
Tiafoe — who, like Durant, hails from Prince George’s County (Md.) — is a huge fan of the All-Star forward. And he showed up to his press conference clad in a custom Nets No. 7 jersey, albeit with his name on the back instead of Durant’s.
“Yeah, I’ve always been a KD fan,” Tiafoe said. “He’s unbelievable. He changed to No. 7, and I wanted one.”
Tiafoe fell to just 1-7 in five-set matches, including first-round losses this year at both Roland Garros and Wimbledon. But on Thursday, he flashed the kind of talent that once had him in the top 30 in the world. Now the next step for the 21-year-old is consistency.
Andrea Petkovic upset No. 6 Petra Kvitova, 6-4, 6-4. And as she did in her first-round win, she celebrated by pointing to her stomach to troll her trainer.
“My trainer has lost [26 lbs] in the last two weeks since we’ve been here,” Petkovic said. “Every time when he’s treating me, after 10 minutes he goes in front of the mirror, lifts his shirt and looks at his abs. I got so annoyed, I told him, if you keep doing this, I will mock you in the celebration if I win.
“Now he does it a little less. So I’m hoping if I keep winning and I keep mocking him, he will stop doing it and just treat me.”
The main event of the night card on Ashe Stadium was canceled when Thanasi Kokkinakis of Australia pulled out of his match against No. 2 seed Rafael Nadal with a right-shoulder injury. No. 1 seed Novak Djokovic is also dealing with a shoulder injury and was consulting with medical experts Thursday regarding his situation.



