Frances Tiafoe wins French Open match, roots for Victor Wembanyama to make NBA Finals

After a thrilling five-set comeback in the third round of the French Open, Frances Tiafoe wished for the same good juju for Victor Wembanyama.

The San Antonio Spurs phenom is playing in Game 7 of the Western Conference finals against the Oklahoma City Thunder. The winner advances to the NBA Finals.

“I’m cheering for Wemby,” the American tennis star said on the court at Roland Garros on Saturday, May 30 after beating Jaime Faria in a match that went past midnight. “Big fan of his and all the best. Hopefully he gets to the NBA Finals. Huge, huge game tonight. I think that’s one of the two most famous words in sports, ‘Game 7.’ So I hope you guys enjoy that.”

Tiafoe also acknowledged the crowd’s cheers earlier in his match, which were for Paris Saint-Germain winning the Champions League over Arsenal.

“I hope PSG won with all the noise,” he added.

Earlier in the week, Tiafoe shared how the French center inspires him, especially when Wembanyama said he should have been named NBA MVP. His Thunder rival Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was given the award instead. Tiafoe’s own rival, Jannik Sinner, was upset in the second round of the French Open.

“The biggest thing that I implement in my everyday sport is definitely mentality,” Tiafoe said in an interview with the Tennis Channel. “You see what Wemby been saying, that stuff gets me juiced up. Like, he said, ‘I don’t think Shai should have won MVP. I think I’m the MVP.’ In his house, during the whole thing he’s sitting down. He not even giving his respects, not talking to him after the game, that’s the energy I love.”

Tiafoe showed a bit of that mentality during his late night match against Faria when the two opponents chirped at each other during the fifth set. Tiafoe said from the service line, “You’re acting super tough right now. … Relax and play. … You’re trying to act like you’re tough. You’re not hard, bro. Just play.”

Wembanyama, 22, has had a historic NBA playoffs that includes him becoming the youngest player with 40+ points and 20+ boards in Game 1 of the Western Conference finals and a record 12 blocks in Game 1 of the conference semifinals.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Frances Tiafoe wishes Victor Wembanyama luck after French Open win