ATP tennis player Frances Tiafoe showed up to the Houston Rockets’ game Wednesday night against the Milwaukee Bucks, and was greeted by Kevin Durant after the game. So when Durant returned the favor Thursday night at the Fayez Sarofim & Co. U.S. Men’s Clay Court Championship at River Oaks Country Club, he couldn’t exactly go unnoticed.
Durant and teammates Amen Thompson, Clint Capela and Jeff Green watched Tiafoe take on Rinky Hijikata in a three-set thriller Thursday, a thriller that Tiafoe won 6-4, 3-6, 6-2. That said, Durant walked out of the match early and missed the ending, which Tiafoe wasn’t shy about mentioning.
“I seen KD left when I went three sets—he’s old as hell, so he had to go back and get some rest,” Tiafoe told the Tennis Channel. “Especially when he left, I was like, ‘Yeah, definitely got to get my mind right and get this match done.'”
Tiafoe, 28, is nine years younger than Durant, who is 37, but he had stayed up late to show his support, even though the conditions during the match were notably muggy after a heavy rain Thursday afternoon. Tiafoe later said that he did appreciate the support: having the contingent of NBA players show up certainly drew more eyes to the local tournament.
“Them wanting to come is awesome,” said Tiafoe. “Supporting the game, getting different guys to come to the sport, that’s what it’s about. Letting ’em know that tennis is cool, tennis is fun to play, you know, they’ve got a different respect for it once they come live.”
Tiafoe always plays well in Houston, making the finals in both 2024 and ’25. His win Thursday marked his fifth straight qualification for Friday’s quarterfinal, which he also won. He lost in the semifinal round Saturday, however, to fellow American Tommy Paul.
“Great fans, you know how it is, so easy-going. I stay in a house that is literally connected to the courts that gets me onto the arena; it’s great, I do a lot of off-court things when you have a lot of friends, you don’t think about the week as much,” Tiafoe said. “I went to an Astros game, I went to a Rockets game and I’m cool with a bunch of guys, so it’s a lot of fun.”