Tennis is often a sport of survival and resilience. Unlike other sports, there are no billionaire ownerships to bail a player out. Investment is dependent on how far an individual aspires to progress, carrying a heavy baggage of risk.
Tiafoe will partake in an All-American clash against devoted friend Taylor Fritz - three sets away from a maiden Grand Slam final. What better way to do it than in front of home support in New York?
In 2022, the former top-10 player became the first black man to reach the US Open semi-finals since Arthur Ashe now over five decades ago.
But suppose you take a moment to learn about Tiafoe's influential story from rags to riches. In that case, chances are you will come to acknowledge a phenomenal human who has triumphed over adversity.
Constant Tiafoe and Alphina Kamara, Frances’ parents, were forced to fight tirelessly to remain safe from a bloodthirsty civil war in their native homeland of Sierra Leone which began in 1991.
They decided to flee for a better life in the United States - a decision they will never regret.
It was the country of freedom that allowed their son, Frances, to pursue his dream of becoming a professional tennis player. He wanted it so bad that he temporarily lived in a storage room at Maryland's Junior Tennis Champions Centre in Washington D.C.
That is where his father served as Head of Maintenance, and where Tiafoe spent most of his day ever since the age of three hitting tennis balls against a wall.
Other junior players at the tennis club would arrive in stylish outfits and be dropped off to practice in expensive cars. Tiafoe on the other hand, could only dream of living a lavish lifestyle.
Tiafoe and his brother had little choice but to sleep on a massage table at the centre and wear hand-me-down clothes, much to the discomfort of the pair. That all changed when their father proposed they join their mother for a wedding in Freetown, Sierra Leone's capital, to understand how blessed they were.
"That definitely put life into a completely different perspective – the poverty was pretty bad," Tiafoe told the BBC in 2018.
"We realised that we ain't rich or living the high life, but we are definitely still blessed. We got food on the table every night, parents who love us, a TV, all the accessories we need. It ain't terrible.
"It humbled me and made me serious. It came into my head pretty quick to use tennis as a way to help, not only myself, but our family because they have sacrificed so much."
Perhaps that explains why the current world No.20 has a unique aura about him. Not in an arrogant way, but in the most humble way imaginable.
He told reporters of the inner-belief and self-confidence that has carried him through his entire career.
“Everything’s changed," he admitted. "I told my parents from when I was about 11 or 12 years old that this is what it is going to be. You guys just have to sit back and wait for it…My dad always believed me. My mom always wanted me to go to college. ‘That is the first thing, you can do whatever you want after that.’…[But I said] it’s not going to go down like that. It was what it was."
A couple of years prior in 2016, Tiafoe walked out onto Arthur Ashe Stadium against one of the all-time greats, Roger Federer.
The then-19-year-old took the Swiss maestro to five sets before a chance at a famous upset was officially crushed. That was the moment he made a name for himself on the world stage.
From a boy who had very little to get by, all of a sudden, he had the world at his fingertips, ready to prove that no challenge is too great.
Throughout his playing days thus far, Tiafoe has remained grounded and appreciates how fortunate he is to be in the position he dreamed about all those years ago.
“I really shouldn’t be here. I overcame some incredible odds to get to where I’m at today,” Tiafoe said. “Hopefully there are some young people who will look at me and understand that if you are obsessed [with] being great at what you do, you can escape any situation.”
"I want to win a Grand Slam and be at the top of the game. That’s what everyone wants. I am still chasing it. I have beaten those top guys… so it’s kind of like ‘Why not?’”
Well, Tiafoe is six sets away from achieving the unthinkable. The cards are falling into place just at the perfect moment in his quest to capture glory.
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