Three weeks ago, Frances Tiafoe was on Court Suzanne-Lenglen in Paris past 1 a.m., having just squandered his two-sets-to-one lead and double-break advantage at 4-1 against Matteo Arnaldi in the fourth round of the French Open. It was an emotional loss for him. But on Sunday, he made a strong return in Halle as he beat his close friend and compatriot Taylor Fritz 6-4, 6-4 to win the Terra Wortmann Open, becoming the first American in history to lift the trophy at the ATP 500 event. His post-match speech was as much a sermon as a celebration.

“I just want to say one of my favourite scriptures, Romans 8:18. The pain that you’ve been feeling can’t compare to the joy that’s coming. That proves very, very true. A few weeks ago I had one of the toughest losses of my career at the French Open. To be able to come back and have a good week here and win my biggest title, beating the players that I did, it’s a huge testimony to that quote. It’s something I’ve been living by. All glory to God,” Tiafoe told the crowd.

The breakthrough came on a German grass court, against a top-ten friend, mirroring his career’s emotional arc

The performance the 28-year-old put up on the grass at Halle is not something everyone associates with him. In the final match, Tiafoe dropped just seven points on serve and defeated top-ten opponents Flavio Cobolli, Félix Auger-Aliassime, and Fritz to conquer the title. Before Sunday, he had lost in four finals above the ATP 250 level, including a defeat against Taylor at the 2022 Tokyo event.

He’s now free of one burden, but faces a greater one: could Tiafoe perform at the highest levels and win a major title? With the Halle title, he will return to world No. 19 in the updated rankings on Monday. Back again inside the top 20, after spending five weeks away from the cutoff. Heading into Wimbledon, Tiafoe can finally move past the French Open collapse.