In the fourth round of the U.S. Open on Monday, American Frances Tiafoe defeated second seed Rafa Nadal 6-4 4-6 6-4 6-3 by playing the match of his life. Nadal was defeated in a major for the first time this year, and he had been vying for a record-extending 23rd Grand Slam victory.
Tiafoe broke Nadal for a fifth time to record possibly the tremendous shock of the tournament. He lapped up the enthusiasm from a roaring crowd at Arthur Ashe Stadium while covering his face with his hands. Tiafoe, seeded 22th, said in an interview while on the court, “I don’t even know what to say right now. I’m beyond pleased. I’m practically in tears.”
“It’s unbelievable. He is unquestionably among the best of all time. Today, I played fantastic tennis, but I have no idea what occurred. While Tiafoe did play outstanding tennis, he also benefitted from Nadal’s surprisingly subpar serving and returns. Compared to Tiafoe’s 48 winners, the Spaniard struck only 33 winners and nine double faults.
Tiafoe’s victory ended Nadal’s string of 17 consecutive major tournaments in which he advanced beyond the quarterfinals. The Spaniard won the Australian and French Opens this year before pulling out of his Wimbledon semifinal due to an abdominal issue.
After the game, Nadal offered no justifications for his performance in New York’s oppressive heat. He told reporters, “I may make excuses, but to me, it’s clear: if you don’t play at the level you should, you can’t win.”My rival was the superior player.”
Tiafoe, 24, is of Sierra Leonean descent and was born in Maryland. He started playing tennis when his father was a janitor at the Junior Tennis Champions Center in a suburb of Washington, DC. He wore a sweatshirt with a list of Serena Williams’ 23 Grand Slam triumphs on the back after the match. The pioneering Williams most likely competed in the last game of her career last week at the competition.
“I felt like many people had low expectations of me and how I would do when I arrived on the scene,” he remarked.”I wasn’t psychologically prepared for it; I wasn’t grown enough for such situations.”But I’ve developed over the last couple of years, and I have a terrific team behind me. I’ve been keeping my head down, and I’m OK with my life’s circumstances.
Even though Tiafoe had never won a set against Nadal in their two previous encounters, he broke for a 4-3 advantage in the first set and beat it with a simple volley. Before the second set, which Nadal won after Tiafoe double faulted by the narrowest of margins to tie the match, it took Nadal over 10 minutes to change his outfit and tape up his hands off the court.
In the third set, Tiafoe energized the audience by creating a breakpoint and rewarding them with a backhand winner down the line for a 4-3 lead that made him race to his chair. When Tiafoe was broken in the fourth set, Nadal began to show signs of life. Tiafoe had earlier protested to the chair umpire about the sound of the roof shutting for rain when he was serving.
However, Tiafoe broke Nadal again in the last game when the Spaniard threw a backhand into the net to secure the improbable triumph. Tiafoe had previously broken Nadal on a weak service game from Nadal.