Wayne Ferreira has been Francis Tiafoe’s first coach since 2020. The 24-year-old American player on Monday defeated Rafael Nadal in the 2022 US Open’s round of 16 match 6-4, 4-6, 6-4, 6-3. 

Tiafoe now advances to the quarterfinals of a major for just the second time in his career. He will face No 9 seed Andrey Rublev on Wednesday.

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The win against Nadal is Tiafoe’s biggest moment in the sport. The world No 26 was born to Sierra Leonean immigrants and has spent most of his career battling in the second tier of ATP pros. He thanked his parents and supporters after the fourth round game. 

“To have them see what I did today means more than anything,” Tiafoe said. “Today’s an unbelievable day and I’m going to soak this one in, for sure.”

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“When I first came on the scene, a lot of people had limitations on what I would do. … I wasn’t ‘ready for it mentally.’ I wasn’t ‘mature,’” Tiafoe said. But these days, he added, “I’m able to just do me and do it my way and enjoy the game I love.”

Who is Wayne Ferreira, Francis Tiafoe’s coach? 

Wayne Richard Ferreira was born in 1971 in Johannesburg, South Africa. He is 50 years old. 

Ferreira was ranked world no. 1 junior doubles player and no. 6 junior singles player. He won the junior doubles title at the US Open in 1989. The South African player turned professional in 1989 and won his first ATP doubles title in Adelaide in 1991. 

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He recorded 26 career titles, 15 Singles titles, and 11 Doubles titles during his career. The former world no 6 retired in 2005. As a coach, he has worked with Croatian Marian Cilic. He was Tiafoe’s second coach before 2020. 

In 1992, Ferreira reached the semifinals of the Australian Open. He won his first ATP singles title at Queen’s Club, London. 

Talking about his relationship with Frances Tiafoe earlier this year, the coach said,“It’s great because he’s such a nice guy. We have such a nice time together. He has so many improvements to make and so much that he can do. It’s a cool project because he can be so much better, and he wants to do it. It’s nice that he’s open to learning and doing his best. There are a lot of changes we have to make, and it’s a lot of fun spending time with him, being with him, and seeing everything go in the right direction”.

When Ferreira joined Tiafoe, the American player was world no 87. He peaked at no 24.