Frances Tiafoe is box-office material, and Episode 9 of Break Point proved it.

The American made his long-awaited Netflix debut in the penultimate episode of Season 1 and it did not take long to show why fans around the world have fallen in love with him.

“If you get a chance to change your life, you’ve got to grab it with both hands,” he said.

Tiafoe’s parents came from Sierra Leone. His mother was a nurse who worked two jobs and his father was a maintenance worker at a tennis facility in College Park, Maryland. Sometimes Tiafoe would stay at the tennis centre and was able to play for free. Nobody in the family could have imagined Frances would end up competing on the biggest stages in the world.

Expert Patrick Mouratoglou said: “He’s one of the most incredible stories in our sport.

“Frances represents better than anyone the American dream.”

Fans were also introduced to Tiafoe’s girlfriend, Ayan Broomfield, whom he began dating when they were 17. They often tell each other, “Let’s change our lives.”

Tiafoe had the opportunity to do just that against all-time great Rafael Nadal in the fourth round of the 2022 US Open.

“I’m so pumped up for today,” Tiafoe told his coach Wayne Ferreira during practice ahead of the match. “I’m coming after his motherf***er, bro.”

In the gym right before the players walked onto the court, Ferreira — who was shown to be the “old-school coach” Tiafoe needs — gave his charge a final piece of advice:

“You can do this,” Ferreira said. “Nothing to lose.”

Tiafoe certainly played that way, sending the raucous New York crowd into a frenzy all evening long en route to the biggest win of his career. “He shocked the entire tennis world,” Broomfield said.

Tiafoe eventually lost to Carlos Alcaraz in a thrilling semi-final, but he won despite the defeat. It was about motivating kids and showing them what is possible.

“I want to keep inspiring people,” he said.

Tiafoe was devastated in the locker room after falling short. But the USTA’s Eric Butorac told him former First Lady Michelle Obama would like to speak to him and they enjoyed a nice moment together.

A player whose run ended victoriously in the episode was World No. 1 Iga Swiatek.

“[She] will do everything in order to be the best. I like that,” Maria Sharapova said. “But when you see a perfect picture of someone, when they show you that they have everything under control, do they really?”

The answer was a resounding yes. 

Break Point gave the viewer insight into the Polish superstar’s mindset. She explained she was never the most popular at school, but did not care. Swiatek prefers to put herself in a bubble ahead of important moments. She was content to spend time in her hotel room putting together a Lego figure. It was the calm before the storm.

“I feel like everybody is chasing me,” she said.

It did not matter. The only thing that came close to stopping her was a distraction in the form of Friends actor Matthew Perry on the big screen (Swiatek is a huge fan of the show). That was the first time she looked at the big screen the entire match.

But it was not able to stop the Pole from claiming another major title.

The final two ATP Tour events before Wimbledon will take place next week in Mallorca and Eastbourne, with Stefanos Tsitsipas and Taylor Fritz returning to defend their titles at the respective ATP 250s.

Alejandro Davidovich Fokina and Ben Shelton are among the other top seeds in Mallorca, while Tommy Paul and Alex de Minaur join Fritz in Eastbourne.

ATPTour.com looks at five things to watch at each grass-court tournament.

FIVE THINGS TO WATCH IN MALLORCA
1) Can Tsitsipas Build Momentum?: The defending champion Greek enters with a 1-2 grass-court record this season after early exits in Stuttgart and Halle. But happy memories from last year in Mallorca could spark his grass-court season to life ahead of Wimbledon. The Greek, who will open against Yannick Hanfmann or Pedro Cachin after a first-round bye, has not won a title since last year at the Spanish event.

2) Davidovich Fokina Leads Spanish Charge: The second-seeded Davidovich Fokina is one of five Spaniards in the main draw, not including potential qualifiers. Seeking his first grass win of the season after a defeat to Jiri Lehecka in London, the 24-year-old is joined by countrymen Bernabe Zapata Miralles, Roberto Carballes Baena, Albert Ramos-Vinolas and wild card Feliciano Lopez in the 28-player singles field. 

3) Bublik Seeks To Back Up Halle Run: Alexander Bublik is set to meet Andrey Rublev on Sunday in the Halle final, and he will continue his grass-court campaign as the fifth seed in Mallorca. It will be the Kazah’s third grass tournament in as many weeks, after opening his campaign on the surface with a second-round run in ‘s-Hertogenbosch earlier this month. 

4) Shelton Continues His Grass-Court Education: Former Florida Gator Ben Shelton played and won his first ATP Tour grass match last week at The Queen’s Club against another former collegian in J.J. Wolf. After a three-set defeat to Lorenzo Musetti in the London second round, he will benefit from a first-round bye as the third seed in Mallorca before facing Christopher Eubanks or a qualifier.

5) Early Test For Top Doubles Seeds: Despite their status as No. 1 seeds, Santiago Gonzalez and Edouard Roger-Vasselin drew the difficult assignment of wild-card duo Feliciano Lopez and Tsitsipas in the opening round. Petros Tsitsipas, teaming with Bart Stevens, will challenge second-seeded Belgians Sander Gille and Joran Vliegen in the first round.

FIVE THINGS TO WATCH IN EASTBOURNE
1) Fritz Seeks Third Title: Champion in Eastbourne in both 2019 and 2022, Fritz will bid to improve upon his middling 2-2 grass-court record this season. The American backed up his Eastbourne title last season with a career-best Grand Slam run to the Wimbledon quarter-finals, proving his staying power on the lawns.

2) Former Champ De Minaur: De Minaur won the Eastbourne title in 2021 and could enter this year’s event on the heels of a second grass title at The Queen’s Club, where he will face Carlos Alcaraz in Sunday’s final. The third seed will open against Emil Ruusuvuori or Gregoire Barrere after a first-round bye.

3) Paul, Cressy Among Six Americans In Singles Draw: The top-seeded Fritz is far from the only American hope at the ATP 250. After qualifying at The Queen’s Club, Tommy Paul is the second seed in Eastbourne, while Maxime Cressy seeks his first grass-court win of the season in his third event. Wolf, Brandon Nakashima and Mackenzie McDonald round out the American direct entrants.

4) Cerundolo, Etcheverry, Baez For Argentina: Fourth seed Francisco Cerundolo leads the charge for Argentina, with sixth seed Tomas Martin Etcheverry and Sebastian Baez also in the draw. Etcheverry will open against Wolf, while Baez faces Portugal’s Nuno Borges in the opening round.

5) Loaded Doubles Draw: A high-powered doubles field includes Roland Garros champs Ivan Dodig and Austin Krajicek, three-time major champions Rajeev Ram and Joe Salisbury, and 2021 Wimbledon champions Nikola Mektic and Mate Pavic.

No service breaks, no problem for Marcelo Melo and John Peers. The Brazilian/Australian duo defeated German home favourites Oscar Otte and Jan-Lennard Struff 7-6(5), 7-6(4) on Saturday at the Terra Wortmann Open to advance to the final at the ATP 500 in Halle.

Despite missing out on all five of their break chances, Melo/Peers saved the only break point against them and outplayed their opponents in the clutch moments. They will meet Italians Simone Bolelli and Andrea Vavassori for the title on Sunday.

While it will be their first final as a team, former World No. 1 Melo is a 36-time tour-level doubles champ and Peers, a former No. 2 in the Pepperstone ATP Doubles Rankings, has won 26 doubles crowns. Both men are seeking their first ATP Tour title of 2023.

Roland Garros Champs Dodig/Krajicek Extend Winning Run To Reach Queen’s Final
With three wins under their belts at the Cinch Championships, Ivan Dodig and Austin Krajicek have now won nine straight matches dating back to their Roland Garros title run.

The second seeds at The Queen’s Club in London, they defeated Edouard Roger-Vasselin and Santiago Gonzalez 7-6(4), 7-6(5) on Saturday to reach the final at the ATP 500. The Croatian/American team will meet Taylor Fritz and Jiri Lehecka in Sunday’s title match.

Both Fritz and Lehecka are bidding for their first ATP Tour doubles title, with Lehecka set to compete in his first tour-level doubles final.

Improving by the match on the grass courts of the Cinch Championships, Carlos Alcaraz moved into his first final on the surface with a 6-3, 6-4 win against Sebastian Korda on Saturday.

With victory against Alex de Minaur in Sunday’s final at The Queen’s Club in London, the Spaniard would reclaim the top spot in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings from Novak Djokovic and secure the No. 1 seed at Wimbledon. Through to his 14th tour-level final, he is seeking his 11th title.

“Right now I feel like I’m playing for 10 years on grass, it’s something crazy for me,” said Alcaraz, who is playing just his third tournament on the surface and entered London with a 4-2 grass-court record. “I didn’t expect to adapt my movement, my game so fast on grass. I’m really happy with that.”

Alcaraz’s win against World No. 32 Korda improved his record to 27-1 against players outside the Top 20 this season. He has reached at least the semi-finals in eight of the nine tournaments he’s played on the year.

After winning a dramatic opening set that featured a combined three breaks of serve on 13 chances, Alcaraz won the only break point of the second set. The 20-year-old converted three of his nine break chances overall, saving four of five break points against him in the opening set.

Korda was plagued by six double faults, including several at key moments in the first set. The American’s slice was also punished by Alcaraz, the top seed running around it and crushing forehands at every opportunity.

“I’m playing great, I’m feeling great,” the Spaniard assessed, saying that this was the best match of his young grass-court career. “I’m really happy to play here in Queen’s. Since the first match, I feel the love from the crowd. I would say that it’s impossible to win these kind of matches without them, without the energy they bring to me.”

What a way to reach the final! 🔥

First grass court final for @carlosalcaraz as he defeats Korda 6-3 6-4!@QueensTennis | #CinchChampionship pic.twitter.com/YvphwVfZu2

— ATP Tour (@atptour) June 24, 2023

Alcaraz will again rely on that energy in the final against De Minaur, who beat Holger Rune 6-3, 7-6(2) earlier on Saturday. The pair’s lone previous Lexus ATP Head2Head meeting was a classic in last year’s Barcelona semi-finals. In a three-hour, 40-minute thriller, Alcaraz saved a pair of match points in a 6-7(4), 7-6(4), 6-4 victory en route to the title on home soil.

“It’s going to be a big challenge for me. His game is really good on grass,” Alcaraz said of the final matchup. “He serves so flat. He’s going to be very dangerous here on grass.

“But I think about myself, I’m thinking about my game. I will try to put my game in the match. I will try not to think about the opponent. Just enjoy the final, enjoy playing here and let’s see what happens.”

De Minaur could reach a new career-high Pepperstone ATP Ranking of No. 14 with victory in the final. Korda, behind his run to the semis, will move to a new high of World No. 25 on Monday.

Alex de Minaur reached his second tour-level final of the season on Saturday when he defeated second seed Holger Rune 6-3, 7-6(2) at the Cinch Championships in London.

The Australian has a strong record on grass, winning the title in Eastbourne in 2021 and advancing to the fourth round at Wimbledon last year. He demonstrated his pedigree on the surface once again in his semi-final clash against the Dane, moving well and committing just nine unforced errors to advance after one hour and 40 minutes.

“I love being here and playing on this court in front of this amazing crowd,” de Minaur said. “I am very happy to get through. I have played decent on grass and I am having a good week and this was my best performance of the week.”

De Minaur now holds a 12-2 record at ATP 500 events this season, having captured this biggest title of his career in Acapulco in February. The World No. 18, who defeated former World No. 1 Andy Murray in the first round, will chase his eighth tour-level title on Sunday when he meets Carlos Alcaraz or Sebastian Korda.

Rune arrived in London having never earned a tour-level grass-court win. The 20-year-old found his range on the surface this week, though, defeating Maxime Cressy, Ryan Peniston and Lorenzo Musetti to reach his sixth semi-final of the year.