Get out – and quickly home’
Rafael Nadal’s (36) Grand Slam season ended earlier than expected. In the 4: 6, 6: 4, 4: 6 and 3: 6 against Frances Tiafoe (24), the Spaniard was physically and playfully unable to stop the American, who was triumphant like unleashed.
In tennis you have to be “very fast and very young – and I’m not at the moment,” said Nadal honestly afterwards.
And: “I have to take care of much more important things than tennis.” What does he mean? Nadal and his heavily pregnant wife Xisca Perelló become parents. The Grand Slam record champion (22 wins): “Now is the moment to have my first son and hope that everything will be fine.”
It remains to be seen whether he will return to the field before the birth.
Nadal: “If I feel like I’m ready for the competition, then I’ll be there.” For him it’s now time for “a new start, it’s been a tough few months”. In addition to the abdominal muscle tear at Wimbledon, he means above all the endless history of injuries to his foot (Müller-Weiss syndrome). During the game against Tiafoe, the pain in his wrists also apparently came back.
But all of this did not allow Nadal to be excuses after the defeat. The Spaniard: “I have to be critical of myself,” he said. “I faced a player who was better than me. And because of that, I now have a return flight home.”
Haaland shouts ripe on TV
“Let the horses do the thinking”
Source: IMAGE
It is quite possible that a Spaniard will still win in New York on Sunday. Carlos Alcaraz (19) prevailed against former US Open winner Marin Cilic from Croatia. Alcaraz won 6: 4, 3: 6, 6: 4, 4: 6, 6: 3 and only completed the success in the middle of the night at 2:24 a.m. local time after 3:53 hours of play. In a duel of young stars, he meets Jannik Sinner (21) from Italy on Wednesday.
The quarterfinals begin on Tuesday. First, the Italian Matteo Berrettini meets the Norwegian Casper Ruud (6 p.m. / Eurosport), on the night of Wednesday the Australian Nick Kyrgios plays against Karen Khachanov from Russia. None of the eight quarter-finalists have been able to win the title in one of the four Grand Slam tournaments.
