The current World No.3 Rafael Nadal lost to Frances Tiafoe on day eight of the US Open in a 6-4, 4-6, 6-4, 6-3 victory for the young American.
Tiafoe’s victory marked Nadal’s first loss before the quarterfinals of a grand slam since the 2017 Wimbledon and is his first grand slam loss in 2022. The match over Nadal ensures that Tiafoe will enter the quarterfinals of the US Open, being the youngest American player to reach that far since 2004.
The 24-year-old was ecstatic with his win, saying that Nadal is one of the best tennis players ever but admitting that he had trouble believing it happened.
“I’m beyond happy, I’m almost in tears. I can’t believe it. He’s definitely one of the greatest of all time. I played unbelievable tennis today, but yeah I really don’t know what happened,” said Tiafoe, as per Yahoo Sports.
FRANCES TIAFOE HAS DONE IT pic.twitter.com/V0dnN5eXHz
— US Open Tennis (@usopen) September 5, 2022
Tiafoe vs Nadal series recap
The first set between the two was very back-and-forth, but Tiafoe seemed to find his footing as the match went on and took the lead in the end. A 10-minute break was called between the first and second sets as Nadal went put bandages on his arms to deal with the humidity on his hands. The second set started similarly to the first with both players trading games early, but Nadal was the one who took the set in the end.
With the scores tied, the tension was heating up between the two players. In the third set, Nadal was leading by the fifth game 3-2 but Tiafoe hit an ace in the sixth game to tie it 3-3. With momentum on his side, Tiafoe took the final games of the set and brought the series into his favor.
Now on the verge of dropping out, the Spaniard fought back hard and took a 3-1 lead. However, Tiafoe won the next three games and took the lead once more. In the end, Tiafoe closed the series out in three and a half hours, giving him a ticket to the US Open quarterfinals.
Regarding his loss, Nadal said it was due to Tiafoe playing well and his lack of performance. While the athlete has been dealing with injuries and mental state due to his wife being hospitalized, he said that he would continue to attend tournaments once he was “ready to compete again.”
“I played a bad match and he played a good match and that’s what happened… He was better than me,” said the 35-year-old Nadal, according to NY Times Sports’ Adam Zagoria. “We can’t find excuses, we need to be enough critic with myself…I have been practicing well the week before but then when the competition has start, my level went down.”
Nadal’s career has seen a very large number of injuries. Back in May, he admitted that his foot was causing him pain after long matches or training. The 22-time Grand Slam champion elaborated that it was a chronic injury with no treatment but that he has adapted to it.
“When I play, sometimes my foot pains me. If you see me every single day, you wouldn’t be worried. I always have pain in my foot, especially after playing a three-hour match or a long training… I have a chronic injury which has no treatment…,” said Nadal.