Jannik Sinner will be hoping for more respect from Frances Tiafoe in the Cincinnati Open final than their clash from three years ago. The Italian was left frustrated with the American after he lost to him at the 2021 Vienna Open.

Sinner looked to be cruising to a straight-sets victory, going 3-0 up in the second before serving for the match at 5-3. In a last-ditch attempt to get back into the semi-final, Tiafoe began taking his time to get in position, high-fiving members of the crowd when he won a point and even talking during his opponent’s serve.

His dark arts tactics did the job, going on to win 3-6, 7-5, 6-2. Sinner called him out for his antics post-match, arguing: “In my opinion, today Tiafoe went too far, has done too much. It is one thing when the player tries to put on a show to put on a bit of a show, but it is quite another when you start to disrespect.”

He did also give props to Tiafoe, who showed no remorse for doing what he could to get under his skin. “I don’t really feel bad for that,” he responded. “Look I mean the crowd is there for a reason. I’m able to interact with them, I’m able to do whatever.

“I don’t feel bad for that. I think he definitely had a chance to win the match regardless. I used them to get on my side and I started playing great tennis, but ultimately I was just having fun out there and it went my way.”

Tiafoe went on to clarify that the pair are pals away from the court, and tipped the reigning Australian Open champion for the greatness he’s gone on to achieve. “I mean when I played Jannik in the Next Gen Finals and Antwerp back in 2019 I looked to my guys and I was like this guy is going to be a Grand Slam champion,” he continued.

“He’s going to be on top of the game for a long time. We get along really well. I have nothing but respect for that guy, how he goes about his process each and every day. Well-coached with [Riccardo] Piatti, super humble guy for how young he is and everything he’s accomplished so far.

“Tonight the result was the result but he’s got a great team behind him, he has a great work ethic, he does everything right, he’s gonna win Grand Slams for sure. How many I don’t know, but he’s going to have a hell of a career and probably be a Hall of Famer at the end of it.”

The pair met again in Vienna last year with world No. 1 Sinner winning 6-3, 6-4 and taking his winning record over Tiafoe to 3-1. He again complimented the 27th seed post-match, showing it’s very much water under the bridge between them.

He told reporters: “For sure it was a tough match. I tried to serve well, especially in the important moments. He’s a very good player and I had to stay on my level—he had a couple of break points first set and a couple of break points second set, but I tried to serve in the right spots in the right moments, and I felt quite good today on court.”

Tiafoe admitted he’s got his work cut out for him in today’s final, which he reached after beating Holger Rune 4-6, 6-1, 7-6 (7-4). He was asked on court if Sinner, who beat Alexander Zverev 7-6 (11-9), 5-7, 7-6 (7-4) in his semi-final, was the favourite.

Tiafoe replied: “Absolutely, for sure he is, right? He’s lost like [five] matches all year? He’s the favourite in every match he plays, no question about it. You’ve got to tip your hat to a guy like him.”