After 22 wins in a row |
US Open-Aus ends Nadal’s Grand Slam series
He was so close to the perfect year.
In the 23rd Grand Slam game in 2022, tennis star Rafael Nadal (36) suffered his first defeat. The Spaniard was surprisingly defeated by the American Frances Tiafoe (24) 4: 6, 6: 4, 4: 6 and 3: 6.
Nadal had previously won the Australian Open and French Open and was in the semi-finals at Wimbledon, where he was unable to compete due to an abdominal muscle injury. At the US Open, the third in the world rankings was again the favorite because the unvaccinated Novak Djokovic (35) was not allowed to enter New York.
At 24, Nadal conqueror Tiafoe is the youngest male US tennis pro in the quarterfinals of the US Open since Andy Roddick in 2006. He is now dealing with the Russian Andrei Rublev.
Tiafoe couldn’t believe his luck after the match: “I don’t know what to say. He (Nadal) is one of the best players of all time. I played incredible tennis today but I don’t know how I did it.”
This means that the US Open will have a new champion. None of the players still in the tournament have been able to lift the trophy before.
