‘Hopefully I Never Play Him Again’- Frances Tiafoe Breathes a Sigh of Relief After Beating Rafael Nadal at the US Open 2022

Spanish tennis star and the current Australian Open and French Open champion Rafael Nadal is out of the US Open. The 36-year-old lost his fourth-round match against Frances Tiafoe of the United States. Playing in front of his home crowd, the 24-year-old was at his best. Going into the match, he had a forgettable record against the 22-time Grand Slam champion. However, he still pulled off a stunning first victory against the Spaniard.

In the post-match press conference, the American expressed his feelings about the special win.

Frances Tiafoe on defeating Rafael Nadal

Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic, and Roger Federer are three of the greatest tennis players of all time. Winning a match against any of them is always special for young tennis players. Tiafoe registered his first victory in his third match against Nadal. Here’s what he said about the victory.

“For a while there, I was like, geez. You see, all these young guys get Rafa, Fed, Novak. 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,” he said. The 24-year-old further added, “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.”

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With this win, Tiafoe advances to the quarterfinal, where he will face world number 11 Andrey Rublev.

Nadal loses his first Grand Slam match in 2022

Rafael Nadal is in brilliant form this year. The Spaniard started his year with a title run at the Australian Open. Even though he suffered multiple injuries, the 36-year-old came back stronger every time. Further, he captured a record 14th French Open title playing with a persistent foot issue.

Later, in the Wimbledon championships, the Spaniard suffered an abdominal injury in his quarterfinal match against Taylor Fritz. Despite ending up on the winning side of that match, the 36-year-old had to withdraw from the remaining of the tournament.

His dream run continued in the US Open as well, as he made it to the fourth round. However, it finally came to a shocking end as Frances Tiafoe produced a stunning performance to outclass the legendary Spaniard. He ended Nadal’s 22-match winning streak in Grand Slam tournaments. With this, we will see a Grand Slam champion out of the big three for the first time in 2022.

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