Hyattsville, Maryland native Frances Tiafoe upset Spain’s 22-time major champion, Rafael Nadal, in four sets during the U.S. Open tennis tournament in New York Monday.
“I’m beyond happy. I’m almost in tears,” the Association of Tennis Professionals organization article reported Tiafoe saying on the court following the match. “I played unbelievable tennis today, but I don’t know what happened.”
Tiafoe, 24, could become the first American in 19 years to win the prestigious tournament, taking his match against 36-year-old Nadal 6-4, 4-6, 6-4, 6-3, at Arthur Ashe Stadium in New York.
“At 4-3 [in the fourth set], when I went up 40/0, my legs were like cement,” Tiafoe said. “I just needed to get out of the game and then pray to God that I don’t have to serve for it. I was lucky enough to get out of that game. I came out not giving Rafa all the respect. I came out to win a tennis match in front of you guys.”
Tiafoe, according to the ATP report, had not won a set against Nadal, who was chasing his fifth U.S. Open title, and a 23rd Grand Slam crown.
Tiafoe won his first ATP tournament in 2018 at Delray Beach at age 20, becoming the youngest American champion since Andy Roddick did it in Houston at age 19 in 2002.
This is the third time Tiafoe made it to the fourth round, becoming the first American to do so in the back-to-back years of 2020 and 2021 since Roddick and Mardy Fish in 2011-12, according to his ATP biography.
According to the Wall Street Journal, Nadal was not playing at his peak level and has been plagued by injuries this year, including an abdominal tear at Wimbledon, which caused him to serve 10% slower than normal.
“I had been practicing well the week before, but when the competition started, my level went down — that’s the truth,” Nadal told the Journal. “We went to the fourth round of the U.S. Open and I faced a player that was better than me.”
Tiafoe said that he spent the last couple of years “developing” for these matches and moments.
“When I first came on the scene, I felt like a lot of people had a lot of expectations on me on how I would do,” Tiafoe told ATP. “I wasn’t ready for it mentally. I wasn’t mature enough for it. These past couple of years, when the tension hasn’t been on me, I have been able to develop. I have a great team behind me. I am just putting my head down and I am happy with where I am in life in general. I am able to do me and do it my way and enjoy the game I love.”
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