Rafael Nadal

In front of a rowdy home crowd at Arthur Ashe Stadium, the 22nd seed became the first man to beat Nadal on court in a grand slam this year. It also marks the ...

As he digested a bitter end to a great, complicated year, Nadal brushed off questions about his preparation and the abdominal injury that meant he only played in one tournament before the US Open. “But days will pass and I’ll keep going as I’ve done my whole life and I’m confident I have the inner strength to do it again.” So to see him post that, I was like, ‘Do I retweet it as soon as he sent it?’ I was like, ‘You know what, I’m going to be cool and act like I didn’t see it and then retweet it three hours later.’” “It’s been a few months a little difficult in every way, this is the reality. Hype has followed him since he was a teenager but he has had to be patient in adulthood, watching as his contemporaries rise up above him in the rankings and waiting to experience such moments himself. Am I ever going to be able to say I beat one of them?’ Today I was like, ‘No, I’m going to do that.’ So now, it’s something to tell the kids, the grandkids, ‘Yeah, I beat Rafa.’ Hopefully I never play him again, but hope I end with a win.” The NBA star LeBron James, Tiafoe’s idol, was among those to pay tribute to Tiafoe’s display on Twitter. “My legs were like cement,” said Tiafoe of the lengthy 4-3 game. “I was telling my agent, I felt like the world stopped. I was already tearing. I’m beyond happy, I’m almost in tears,” said Tiafoe during his on-court interview. It also marks the first time since Wimbledon 2017 that Nadal has lost before the quarter-final stage of a grand slam.

Rafael Nadal reflects on his fourth-round loss against Frances Tiafoe at the US Open, where he was pursuing his 23rd Grand Slam title.

The lefty made the semi-finals at [Wimbledon](https://www.atptour.com/en/tournaments/wimbledon/540/overview) before withdrawing due to injury. [Fabio Fognini](https://www.atptour.com/en/players/fabio-fognini/f510/overview). 7 [Richard Gasquet](https://www.atptour.com/en/players/richard-gasquet/g628/overview). “I was not able to do anything, any of these things this afternoon. I had a Love-30 in the first set, second serve, I missed the return. “But at the end of the day I need to analyse myself more than the opponent. I had that break, then I had again a 15/40. At the end the only thing that happened is we went to the fourth round of the That's the only way to improve or that's the only way that I understand you are able to find solutions.” “I was not able to hold a high level of tennis for a long time. Or maybe I lost [other] things because I was not able to create this interior power after all that injuries. “We can make lamentations or we can complain now about a lot of things, but I don't think that [is] going to change any situation,” Nadal said.

Twenty-two-time grand slam champion Rafael Nadal was upset in the fourth round of the US Open on Monday by American Frances Tiafoe at Arthur Ashe Stadium in ...

Tiafoe picked up the sport, getting to play at the center for free, and fell in love with the sport. "The difference is easy," Nadal said afterward. "I just had a big passion for the game. "But I don't think I pushed him enough to create him the doubts that I need to create," he said. "It was definitely one hell of a performance," he said following the match. It helps I played him a couple times."

No. 22 seed Frances Tiafoe defeats Rafael Nadal to end the Spaniard's 22-match Grand Slam winning streak and reach the U.S. Open quarterfinals for the first ...

When one last backhand by Nadal found the net, Tiafoe chucked his racket and put his hands on his head. Earlier in the tournament, he lost the first set of his first-round match. "It signifies that the years go by," Nadal said. Then he made it to the semifinals at Wimbledon in July before withdrawing from that tournament because of a torn abdominal muscle. "At the end that's it." "I felt like the world stopped," Tiafoe said. "I mean, they're going to remember today for the rest of their lives." And he kept his cool, remained in the moment and never let the stakes or the opponent get to him. 2 Gustavo Kuerten in the first. They ended up in Maryland, where Constant helped construct a tennis training center for juniors, then became a maintenance man there; Alphina, Frances said, was "a nurse, working two jobs, working overtime through the nights." For them, I can't imagine what was going through their heads," said Tiafoe, a 24-year-old American seeded 22nd at the U.S. He was thrilled — overwhelmed, even — when the last point was over and it hit him that, yes, he had ended Rafael Nadal's 22-match Grand Slam winning streak Monday and reached the U.S.

For Australian and French Open champion Nadal, it was a first Grand Slam loss of 2022 after an abdominal strain forced him to forfeit his Wimbledon semi-final.

“I going to try to be ready mentally. There is a tournament ahead if everything else goes well,” he said. “I need to go back. I need to fix things. When I feel that I will be ready to compete again, I will be there.” I don’t know when I going to come back,” Nadal told a press conference.

Twenty-two-time grand slam champion Rafael Nadal was upset in the fourth round of the US Open by American Frances Tiafoe at Arthur Ashe Stadium in Flushing, ...

Tiafoe picked up the sport, getting to play at the center for free, and fell in love with the sport. "The difference is easy," Nadal said afterward. "I just had a big passion for the game. "But I don't think I pushed him enough to create him the doubts that I need to create," he said. "It was definitely one hell of a performance," he said following the match. It helps I played him a couple times."

Bradley Beal found out he's yet another person's favorite player -- the guy who upset Rafael Nadal in the U.S. Open.

“I mean, they’re going to remember today for the rest of their lives.” His parents both emigrated to the United States from Sierra Leone in West Africa amid its civil war in the 1990s. Open since Andy Roddick in 2006, but this was not a case of a one-sided crowd backing one of its own. For them, I can’t imagine what was going through their heads,” said Tiafoe, a 24-year-old American seeded 22nd at the U.S. “My favorite basketball player in the NBA Bradley Beal got to watch this,” Tiafoe said. Open quarterfinals for the first time.

Rafael Nadal's uncertain future following US Open exit, Dawson Knox's gratitude for Bills' support, and are Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua finally going to ...

[PSG vs Juventus](https://www.sportingnews.com/us/soccer/news/psg-vs-juventus-time-tv-stream-lineups-odds-champions-league/fnhr4tepl8wjutae2we2daet)and [Real Madrid’s trip to Celtic](https://www.sportingnews.com/us/soccer/news/celtic-vs-real-madrid-time-tv-channel-stream-odds-champions-league/gpl0vinzbt5axabcsuopcki6)among Tuesday’s highlights [Aaron Judge hits 54th home run of the season](https://www.sportingnews.com/us/mlb/news/yankees-aaron-judge-home-run-pace-tracker-mlb-record/rpo0pkegydgvf6akk1pw3qad) [Rafael Nadal knocked out in shock defeat to Francis Tiafoe](https://www.sportingnews.com/us/tennis/news/rafael-nadal-suffers-shock-us-open-exit-frances-tiafoe-draw-opens-kyrgios-and-alcaraz/j8o4unovhgaa9xrubrbqxfid), but Iga Swiatek and Carlos Alcaraz make the quarterfinals at Flushing Meadows

Rafael Nadal has suggested he could take some time away from tennis following his shock US Open fourth-round loss to Frances Tiafoe.

I was not able to do anything, any of these things this afternoon. I was not able to hold a high level of tennis for a long time. I had a 0-30 in the first set, second serve, I missed the return. So he was able to do it. He was able to take the ball too many times very early, so I was not able to push him back. If not, you need to be very, very quick and very young. “I had that break, then I had again a 15-40. “I going to try to be ready mentally. And that's why I am having a plane back home.” For some reason, I don't know, mental issues in terms of a lot of things happened the last couple of months. “I have been practising well the week before, honestly. But in other cases it went the right way, even with not the perfect preparation, no?

Frances Tiafoe pulled off the performance of his career as he overpowered and outhit 22-time Grand Slam champion Rafael Nadal to make the US Open quarter-finals ...

Tiafoe went on to break Nadal again before holding at 5-3. You have to thread the needle and play high risk otherwise you keep running like a yo-yo." Despite the result Nadal will still return to world No. He is one of the greatest of all time, I played unbelievable tennis today, I really don’t know what happened." US Open Nadal broke early in the fourth set and the early signs suggested the match was going to a fifth set, but he couldn’t consolidate the break.

Rafa did not arrive at the US Open at his best, struggling with an abdominal injury since Wimbledon and playing only one match between two Majors. Nadal kicked ...

Nadal stayed competitive and grabbed a break at 2-1 in the fourth set. The American grabbed a break at 3-3 in the third set and held with an ace in game ten to wrap up the set and move closer to the finish line. Nadal needed a medical timeout after the opening set, and he played well in the second to score one break and level the overall score. The youngster delivered his only break in the opener for a surprising lead before the veteran shifted into a higher gear and advanced with five return games on his tally. After that, Nadal will start practicing again, and it seems more evident that we will not see him at the upcoming Laver Cup. Rafael Nadal is heading back home to Mallorca following the fourth-round US Open loss.

All three players have a chance to be at the top of the rankings at the end of this week after Medvedev's early loss.

But if Nadal loses in the fourth round, like is the case for Alcaraz, just reaching the final will be enough for Ruud to become World No. Regardless of what happens elsewhere, if Alcaraz lifts the title on Sunday, he’ll be the World No. 1 ranking spot will be decided by the outcome of one match. But the Spaniard is also best placed to be at the top at the end of the fortnight. If he gets past Frances Tiafoe on Monday but loses in the quarterfinals, he will gain another 180 points, which will be enough as long as Ruud or Alcaraz don’t win the title. 1 spot could be his even before the final.

The 19-year-old was one of five men who could end the tournament as the top-ranked player and the race has been narrowed down to just three, with Rafael Nadal's ...

“I'm still a long way off, I have to win two or three matches and with an opponent as difficult as Sinner in front of me, I only think about that,” he continued. [Carlos Alcaraz](/latest/carlos-alcaraz) has responded to the prospect of becoming the new world No 1 for the first time after the US Open. And Alcaraz’s chances are better than ever following Nadal’s fourth-round exit as he is now the highest seed left in the draw and will no longer face a potential semi-final clash with his compatriot.

The battle for No. 1 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings is down to three players following Daniil Medvedev's fourth-round loss at the US Open on Sunday evening ...

[Stefanos Tsitsipas](https://www.atptour.com/en/players/stefanos-tsitsipas/te51/overview) also had an opportunity to leave the season’s final major as World No. 4 in the Pepperstone ATP Live Rankings. If Ruud climbs to the pinnacle, he will become the first Norwegian to do so. Nadal is in the best position in the battle for No. If Nadal advances to the quarter-finals, he will force Alcaraz or Ruud to win the title. [Rafael Nadal](https://www.atptour.com/en/players/rafael-nadal/n409/overview) is in pole position to leave New York in the top spot, while [Carlos Alcaraz](https://www.atptour.com/en/players/carlos-alcaraz/a0e2/overview) and [Casper Ruud](https://www.atptour.com/en/players/casper-ruud/rh16/overview) still have an opportunity to climb to the top of men's tennis' mountain