Frances Tiafoe Ends Rafael Nadal’s Journey In US Open 2022, Qualifies For The Quarter-final Stage
Frances Tiafoe after defeating Rafael Nadal in US Open 2022 (Image Source: Twitter)
On 5 September 2022, Rafael Nadal took on America’s Frances Tiafoe in the round of 16 of the US Open. Frances Tiafoe was coming off a good run. But, still, Rafael Nadal was favourite to qualify for the next round after winning the match. But, Tiafoe managed to pull it off as he defeated Nadal at a scoreline of 6-4, 4-6, 6-4, 6-3.
With this win, Nadal’s journey in this year’s US Open came to an end. Frances Taifoe managed to come up with the biggest shock of this year’s US Open. But, Tiafoe qualified for the quarter-final stage of this year’s competition. He handed Nadal a stunning defeat at the famous Arthur Ashe Stadium.
“I’m beyond happy, almost in tears, I can’t believe it,” – Frances Tiafoe after defeating Rafael Nadal in US Open 2022
After registering this massive win over the former World number one, Tiafoe was quite emotional. During his on-court interview, he said that he can not believe that he has managed to pull it off against Nadal. He said: “I’m beyond happy, almost in tears, I can’t believe it. I played unbelievable tennis today. I really don’t know what happened.”
With this famous win, Tiafoe became the first American men’s player to reach the quarter-finals of the US Open after John Isner. Former World No. 8 Isner achieved the same feat in 2008. Earlier this match, Tiafoe never managed to win a set against Nadal. In the US Open, Tiafoe ended Nadal’s quest of winning his fifth title. Nadal has won a record 22 Grand Slam titles in men’s singles tennis.
After the match, Frances also added that something exceptional might have happened today. He said: “I played unbelievable tennis but something special happened today. He’s [Nadal] one of the greatest players of all time! I’ve had problems before, I didn’t have the maturity in these big matches. I’m feeling in a better place now.” However, the match with Nadal lasted 3 hours and 34 minutes. Now, Frances Tiafoe will be in action against Russian ninth seed Andrey Rublev on 7 September 2022.
