With Kevin Durant watching—before being "old as hell"—Frances Tiafoe wins clay-court opener

HOUSTON—Frances Tiafoe doesn't typically show nerves in the opening round of an ATP 250.

Then again, Kevin Durant isn't your typical fan in the stands.

The NBA superstar, along with three of his Houston Rockets teammates—Amen Thompson, Clint Capela and Jeff Green—were in attendance for Tiafoe's match Thursday night at the U.S. Men's Clay Court Championship with Rinky Hijikata.

And while they surely didn't pay for their seats at River Oaks Country Club, they still got their money's worth. Well, everyone except for Durant.

"I seen KD left when I went three sets—he's old as hell, so he had to go back and get some rest," joked Tiafoe after his 6-4, 3-6, 6-2 victory.

"Especially when he left, I was like, 'Yeah, definitely got to get my mind right and get this match done.'"

In heavy conditions following afternoon showers, Tiafoe sweated through more than one of his pink Lululemon shirts. (Lucky for him, he had 10 in his bag.) Hijikata was the reason—the 102nd-ranked Australian tracked down ball after ball while quickly turning defense into offense. It kept Tiafoe on the move, and fans on their toes.

But Tiafoe had something Hijikata didn't: a first serve. While the underdog landed a greater percentage of first deliveries, the second-seeded American won 44 or 56 first serves (79%), including 12 aces. Hijikata won his share of extended rallies, but Tiafoe consistently mitigated the damage when he stepped to the service line.

Hijikata earned two break points in the third set, but converted neither. Tiafoe, on the other hand, won 18 of 20 first-serve points in the decider before closing out the match with a break of his own.

"It was pretty physical," Tiafoe told Tennis Channel after his first clay-court match of the season, but, "it's good, it's kind of what you want, get your feet under you."

"Had some good rallies, long games. Rinky played pretty well tonight. Happy to get through in the end."

Both Durant and Tiafoe play tomorrow in their respective sports. But the invitation is always open for another cross-sport connection.

"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."