A summary of Monday’s action at the US Open.
IMAGE: Frances Tiafoe of the United States reacts after defeating Spain’s Rafael Nadal in the fourth round of the US Open on Monday. Photograph: Danielle Parhizkaran-USA TODAY Sports/Reuters
Frances Tiafoe played the match of his life to beat second seed Rafael Nadal 6-4, 4-6, 6-4, 6-3 and reach the quarter-finals of the US Open on Monday.
It was the first time this year that Nadal, who had been chasing a record-extending 23rd Grand Slam title, was been beaten in a major.
The American covered his face with his hands as he soaked up the cheers from a packed house at Arthur Ashe Stadium after breaking Nadal for a fifth time to claim the biggest upset of the tournament.
“I don’t even know what to say right now, I’m beyond happy, I’m almost in tears,” Tiafoe said in an on-court interview.
“I can’t believe it. He is definitely one of the greatest of all time. I played unbelievable tennis today but I really don’t know what happened.”
IMAGE: Rafael Nadal embraces Frances Tiafoe at the net after losing for the first time this year in a major. Photograph: Robert Deutsch-USA TODAY Sports/Reuters
While Tiafoe did indeed play sublime tennis, he also benefited from an uncharacteristically poor serving and returning performance from Nadal. The Spaniard produced nine double faults and hit just 33 winners to Tiafoe’s 48.
With the win, Tiafoe snapped Nadal’s streak of 17 straight majors where he reached the quarter-finals or better. The Spaniard had triumphed at the Australian and French Opens this year before withdrawing with an abdominal injury before his semi-final at Wimbledon.
Next up for Tiafoe is a quarter-final showdown with Russian Andrey Rublev, who defeated Briton Cameron Norrie 6-4, 6-4, 6-4 earlier in the day.
Swiatek survives surprise test from Niemeier
IMAGE: Poland’s Iga Swiatek in action against Germany’s Jule Niemeier. Photograph: Danielle Parhizkaran-USA TODAY Sports/Reuters
Iga Swiatek was given a mighty scare by little-known Jule Niemeier on Monday before the Polish top seed finally handed the 108th-ranked German a 2-6, 6-4, 6-0 reality check in the fourth round.
Swiatek, who collected her second Roland Garros title amid a 37-match winning streak earlier this year, barely looked like the world’s best player as she sprayed the court with errors to surrender the opening set.
She handed Niemeier a break in the third game of the second set with a clumsy mistake at the net. Sitting on her bench with her towel over her head during the changeover, she loudly smacked her thigh in anger before returning to the court with new resolve, winning the next three games.
IMAGE: Jule Niemeier rushes to the net to return a drop from Iga Swiatek. Photograph: Danielle Parhizkaran-USA TODAY Sports/Reuters
The pair traded breaks twice to close out the second set but Niemeier scarcely put up a fight in the third, producing 14 unforced errors as her game quickly unravelled.
Swiatek, who won in Doha, Indian Wells, Miami and Rome this year, sounded rattled after the match as her usual legion of Polish supporters rallied around her from the stands.
“I’m just proud that I didn’t lose hope,” she said in an on-court interview. “I had hard time like pushing her back.”
It is the first time she has reached the quarter-finals at Flushing Meadows. She next faces in-form American Jessica Pegula.
“I’m really happy to play in front of you guys and I hope my matches are going to be good to watch so you’re not going to waste your time here,” she said.
Rublev whips Norrie
IMAGE: Andrey Rublev celebrates after defeating Britain’s Cameron Norrie. Photograph: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports
Rainy weather could not dampen Russian Andrey Rublev’s sublime form as he rolled past Briton Cameron Norrie 6-4, 6-4, 6-4 to reach the US Open quarter-finals for the third time.
The ninth seed sent over 11 aces and had fewer than half the unforced errors his opponent did in a brisk affair that was surely a reprieve after Rublev endured two five-set battles in the earlier rounds.
With 24-year-old Rublev up a break in the second set, rain forced a considerable delay as Louis Armstrong Stadium’s retractable roof slowly slid into place and workers mopped up the court before the eighth game.
Roland-Garros quarter-finalist Rublev was unfazed, dropping only two of his first serve points in the third set and getting the critical break over the seventh seed in the ninth game with an exquisitely placed backhand winner.
IMAGE: Andrey Rublev stretches for a return against Cameron Norrie. Photograph: Danielle Parhizkaran-USA TODAY Sports
On the hunt for a maiden major title, Rublev’s recent hard court performances painted an inconsistent picture, as he crashed out of his Montreal opener to Briton Dan Evans and lost in the third round at Cincinnati.
But he appeared to be fully in command of his game on New York’s famed blue courts on Monday, with either American Frances Tiafoe or Spanish second seed Rafa Nadal waiting in the next round.
“I played a good match,” Rublev said in an on-court interview.
“This is the US Open, this is a Grand Slam, everyone is nervous, everyone is tight.”
Pegula shines through rain to beat Kvitova
IMAGE: Jessica Pegula of the United States and the Czech Republic’s Petra Kvitova meet at the net after their pre-quarter-final. Photograph: Robert Deutsch-USA TODAY Sports/Reuters
A surprise shower failed to stop American Jessica Pegula from reaching her third Grand Slam quarter-final this year as she toppled twice Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova 6-3, 6-2.
One of the most reliable returners in the sport, Czech Kvitova had won both of their previous meetings but was left to rue her missed chances — as she converted only two of the six break points she earned.
Rain forced a 44-minute stoppage early on in the match, with tournament staff scrambling to close the retractable roof on Ashe and mop up the court.
But eighth seed Pegula was unfazed as she broke Kvitova to love in the seventh and ninth games to close out the first set.
Even when Kvitova took a 2-0 lead in the second, Pegula kept her nerve to storm back and win the next six games to wrap up the win.
“I just told myself not to get frustrated,” Pegula said after she joined fellow American Coco Gauff in the last eight. “I just really wanted to stay committed to hitting my spots.
“It feels amazing – I’m so happy. I thought I handled my nerves and stuff really well.”