In heavy conditions following afternoon showers, Tiafoe sweated through more than one of his pink Lululemon shirts. (Lucky for him, he had 10 in his bag.) Hijikata was the reason—the 102nd-ranked Australian tracked down ball after ball while quickly turning defense into offense. It kept Tiafoe on the move, and fans on their toes.
But Tiafoe had something Hijikata didn’t: a first serve. While the underdog landed a greater percentage of first deliveries, the second-seeded American won 44 or 56 first serves (79%), including 12 aces. Hijikata won his share of extended rallies, but Tiafoe consistently mitigated the damage when he stepped to the service line.
Hijikata earned two break points in the third set, but converted neither. Tiafoe, on the other hand, won 18 of 20 first-serve points in the decider before closing out the match with a break of his own.
“It was pretty physical,” Tiafoe told Tennis Channel after his first clay-court match of the season, but, “it’s good, it’s kind of what you want, get your feet under you.”
“Had some good rallies, long games. Rinky played pretty well tonight. Happy to get through in the end.”
