Rafael Nadal has been beaten in a Grand Slam for the first time in 2022, losing to Frances Tiafoe in the US Open fourth round.
American Frances Tiafoe thrilled the home crowd with a 6-4 4-6 6-4 6-3 win over four-time champion Nadal in New York, BBC Sport reports.
The defeat ended the Spaniard’s bid for a record-extending 23rd major singles title.
Nadal led the fourth set 3-1 before Tiafoe hit back, winning five games in a row to secure his quarter-final spot.
He will face Russian ninth seed Andrey Rublev for a place in the semi-finals at Flushing Meadows.
Frances Tiafoe, seeded 22nd, threw his racquet to the floor and covered his face in disbelief as his victory was confirmed by a netted Nadal backhand.
After thanking the crowd he covered his face with his towel, taking in the atmosphere on a raucous Arthur Ashe Stadium.
“Something special happened today,” the 24-year-old said on court.
“I don’t know what to say, I’m so happy. He’s one of the greatest of all time and I played unbelievable.”
Nadal has never looked settled in New York this year but that is not to take anything away from Tiafoe, who played a clever match.
The result means that Marin Cilic, who won the 2014 US Open, is the only Grand Slam singles winner left in the men’s draw.
Tiafoe has endured some difficult losses in recent weeks, squandering strong positions against Taylor Fritz and Nick Kyrgios, but he showed no signs of nerves against Nadal.
He has spoken before about the difficulties he and his family overcame together and his more unusual route into tennis.
His father worked on a construction crew developing the Junior Tennis Champions Centre (JTCC) in Washington. With his mum working night shifts as a nurse, Tiafoe and his brother were often at the JTCC for long periods of time and subsequently developed their tennis skills on the courts there.
He previously reached the quarter-finals of the Australian Open in 2019 but the win over Nadal is the biggest in his career to date.
“Honestly when I first came on the scene I wasn’t ready for it mentally and mature enough,” he said on court.
“I’ve been able to develop and I have a great team around me.
“I’m happy I won in front of my mum, my dad, my girlfriend and my team and to have them see what I did today.”
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