Frances Tiafoe racked up 18 aces while notching the biggest win of his career, a 6-4, 4-6, 6-4, 6-3 stunner over second-seeded Rafael Nadal on Monday in New York to reach the U.S. Open quarterfinals for the first time in his career.
Tiafoe, seeded No. 22, controlled the match against Nadal, who dropped to 22-1 in Grand Slam matches this season. The 24-year-old Tiafoe is the youngest American man to reach the U.S. Open quarterfinals since Andy Roddick (also 24) in 2006.
“I don’t even know what to say right now,” Tiafoe said during an on-court interview. “I can’t believe it. I can’t believe it. He’s definitely one of the greatest of all-time. I played unbelievable tennis today.”
It marked the first time the 36-year-old Nadal lost in a major before the quarterfinals since Wimbledon in 2017 when he dropped a five-setter to Gilles Muller of Luxembourg in the fourth round.
Nadal won the Australian and French Opens earlier this year but had to withdraw in the semifinals at Wimbledon with an abdominal injury. The Spaniard had 26 unforced errors Monday and nine double faults with nine aces.
“I played a bad match and he played a good match,” Nadal said afterward. “At the end, that’s it. I was not quick with my movements and I was not able to push him back.
“He was better than me.”
Tiafoe had a 48-33 edge in winners in the match that last three hours, 34 minutes. He committed 28 unforced errors.
Tiafoe will face ninth-seeded Russian Andrey Rublev, who was a 6-4, 6-4, 6-4 winner over Cameron Norrie of Great Britain in his round of 16 match.
“I’m not thinking about my (next) match right now,” Tiafoe said. “I’m just happy I got a win today.”
Rublev had 11 aces during his convincing victory over Norrie.
“I think today was everything on my side,” Rublev said. “I played a really good match, consistent match. Plus Cameron maybe in all the important moments, when I need to make an ace or to make a first serve, always happen that I was making it.
“Every time that Cameron, he had a chance, every time he was missing or a beat or something I was playing good shots. Every important moment that something was happening, it was always to my side.”
Rublev had a 29-26 edge in winners. But he committed just 17 unforced errors to Norrie’s 35.
“I felt like I started the match very well, very relaxed and playing good, serving well.” Norrie said. “Yeah, I felt maybe a little bit too relaxed and too low energy. I don’t know why. I felt like Andrey gave me really nothing, and he was very solid. All credit to him.”
In late-night action, third-seeded Carlos Alcaraz of Spain got past 15th-seeded Marin Cilic of Croatia 6-4, 3-6, 6-4, 4-6, 6-3 in a match that ended at 2:24 a.m. The latest U.S. Open finish on record was 2:26 a.m. — a mark accomplished three times.
Alcaraz is the highest remaining seed after top-seeded Russian Daniil Medvedev lost to No. 23 Nick Kyrgios of Australia on Sunday and Nadal fell on Monday. The 19-year-old Spaniard has never made it past a Grand Slam quarterfinal, a level he reached previously at the 2021 U.S. Open and the 2022 French Open.
If Alcaraz and No. 5 Casper Ruud of Norway reach the final, the winner would move to No. 1 in the world. If just one of those two reaches the title round, that player would move to the top spot. If neither gets to the final, Nadal would go back to No. 1.
Alcaraz would become the youngest top-rated player since the ranking system began in 1973. The mark is currently held by Australia’s Lleyton Hewitt, who was 20 when he reached the pinnacle in 2001.
Next up for Alcaraz is Jannik Sinner. The 11th-seeded Italian advanced to his third major quarterfinal of the year, beating Belarus’ Ilya Ivashka 6-1, 5-7, 6-2, 4-6, 6-3. The match featured 20 service breaks (12 converted by Sinner) and 27 double faults (14 by Sinner).
–Field Level Media
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