Rafael Nadal's chase for a record-extending 23rd Grand Slam singles title ended, at least for now, early Tuesday morning in New York with a shock fourth-round defeat against local favourite Frances Tiafoe in the US Open 2022. (More Tennis News)
American Tiafoe, 24, raced to a 6-4, 4-6, 6-4, 6-3 win over four-time champion at the Flushing Meadows, in New York. He will now face Russian ninth seed Andrey Rublev in the quarter-finals, his second in a Major.
This was the first defeat for the 22-time Grand Slam winner in a Major in 2022. It also means that Marin Cilic, who won the 2014 US Open, is the only Grand Slam singles winner left in the men's draw. Yesterday, Nick Kyrgious knocked defending champion and world number one Daniil Medvedev out in the fourth round.
Nadal had previously defeated Tiafoe twice, both in straight sets -- 3-0 in Australia Open 2019 and 2-0 in Madrid Open 2019.
Nadal entered the match with a 22-0 record in Grand Slams this year. The 36-year-old won the Australian Open and French Open titles, but was forced to withdraw from the Wimbledon semi-final against Aussie Kyrgios due to an abdominal injury.
But Nadal could return to the top of the ATP rankings after the end of the tournament.
Men's singles quarter-finals line-up
Italy's Matteo Berrettini (13) vs Norway's Casper Ruud (5);
Australia's Nick Kyrgios (23) vs Russia's Karen Khachanov (27);
Croatia's Marin Cilic (15)/Spain's Carlos Alcaraz (3) vs Belarus' Ilya Ivashka vs Italy's Jannik Sinner (11);
Russia's Andrey Rublev (9) vs United States' Frances Tiafoe (22)
