Rafael Nadal fell to his earliest US Open loss in six years as he was knocked out by Frances Tiafoe on Monday night.  Four-time US Open champion Nadal, bidding for a 23rd Grand Slam title, lost 6-4, 4-6, 6-4, 6-3 in the last-16 to 26th-ranked Tiafoe. The American’s free-swinging performance conjured up 18 aces and 49 winners that flew past a sluggish Nadal on Arthur Ashe Stadium. 

Enviable record

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. The defeat ended a run of 16 successive Slams where the Spaniard had made at least the quarter-finals. “I wasn’t able to push him [Alcaraz] back. Tennis is a sport of positions a lot of the time. You need to be very quick and very young. I am not in that moment anymore. I was not able to cause great damage. He was better than me,” said Nadal, 36.