On Monday, September 5, twenty-two-time grand slam champion Rafael Nadal lost to American Frances Tiafoe in the fourth round of the US Open. In a match that lasted more than 3 hours and 30 minutes, the Maryland native defeated Nadal 6-4, 4-6, 6-4, 6-3. Tiafoe is the youngest American man to get this far in the US Open since Andy Roddick did so in 2006. “It was definitely one hell of a performance,” he said following the match. “I played really well today. Yeah, I guess, I mean, I just came out there and I just believed I could do it. It helps that no one knows who I am.” Earlier in the tournament Tiafoe said he was happy to be going mostly unnoticed.
After his Monday win, he expressed joy for what his victory meant to his parents, who immigrated from Sierra Leone. “I just had a big passion for the game,” he said. “Not even mainly for me, but to do it for them. To see them experience me beating Rafa Nadal is something they’ve seen me have big wins before, but to beat those Mount Rushmore guys is something only few people can say.”
“No doubt, I mean, they will recollect today until the end of their lives.”
Nadal, 36, kept his most memorable misfortune in a huge homerun occasion this year and is presently 22-1 this season. The Spaniard won the Australian Open and French Open prior to pulling out from Wimbledon in July before his booked elimination round confrontation with Australian Nick Kyrgios.
“The thing that matters is simple,” Nadal said a short time later. “I played a terrible match and he played a decent match. Toward the end that is all there is to it, no?”
Nadal said Tiafoe played more determinedly than in past matches between the two, served well, had great strikes and was fast.
“However, I don’t think I pushed him enough to make him the questions that I really want to make,” he said. “Obviously, he did the things competently. If not, he won’t win, beyond a shadow of a doubt. Congratulations to him.”
Nadal said he wants to “fix things” and when he feels intellectually prepared to contend once more, he will, yet he is uncertain about the plan.
Tiafoe will confront Andrey Rublev of Russia in a quarterfinal on Wednesday.
The US Open men’s singles last is planned for Sunday.
Tiafoe’s folks met in the United States, where they would have twins, Franklin and Frances.
Their dad endorsed on as a day worker at the Junior Tennis Champions Center in 1999 in College Park.
While working nonstop, his dad had to move into an empty extra space at the tennis community, where his two young men would remain with him, resting there, while their mom worked night shifts as a medical caretaker. Tiafoe got the game, getting to play at the middle free of charge, and became hopelessly enamored with the game.
Tiafoe recently expressed that while his family didn’t grow up well off, he wouldn’t transform anything.
On Monday he told journalists: “Us being around tennis was somewhat makes us escape our area. My father sort of having the option to watch us. It wasn’t a thing expected to be this way. When we got in the sport of tennis, it resembled my father was like, It would be marvelous on the off chance that you all can involve this as a full grant to school. When it’s all said and done, we were unable to bear the cost of a college.”
