Rafael Nadal crashes out of the US Open in the round of 16 following a defeat to Frances Tiafoe. The Spaniard ends the year with 2 Grand Slam titles and a 22-1 record at majors.
Frances Tiafoe won the match 6-4, 4-6, 6-4, 6-3. The 24-year-old became the first American to beat Rafael Nadal in 17 years. James Blake was the last American to defeat the legendary Spaniard.
Tiafoe’s brute force was too hot to handle for the 22-time Grand Slam winner. The youngster was immaculate with his serves and hit as many as 18 aces compared to Nadal’s 9. The southpaw has been forced to make tweaks to his serve due to the abdominal tear he suffered during his Wimbledon quarter-final match against Taylor Fritz. The modifications became a hindrance as he committed as many as 9 double faults.
Tiafoe deserves a lot of credit for not getting bogged down after Nadal won the second set to level things up. The World No. 26 hit some powerful forehands giving his opponent a taste of his own medicine. He gave some returns from situations where Nadal thought he had the point won. In the fourth set, Tiafoe was down 3-1 at one point after Nadal got the break. However, that turned out to be the last game that the veteran won as it was all Tiafoe from there on.
Tiafoe received a lot of support from the crowd in attendance at Arthur Ashe Stadium. After pulling off the monumental upset, Tiafoe failed to hold back his tears of euphoria. He will surely not forget this day soon.
Twitter reactions to Frances Tiafoe taking out Rafael Nadal
Let’s take a look at how the Twitter world reacted after Frances Tiafoe’s sensational win against an all-time great.
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