US Open: Rafael Nadal suffers 1st Grand Slam loss of 2022, loses to local boy Francis Tiafoe

Rafael Nadal on Monday suffered his first loss in a Grand Slam this year after he was eliminated from the US Open 2022.

Local player Francis Tiafoe stunned the four-time US Open champion 6-4, 4-6, 6-4, 6-3 to qualify for his career's second Grand Slam quarter-final.

The 24-year-old Tiafoe produced a fearless game throughout the three hours and 31 minutes against Nadal at the Arthur Ashe Stadium at Flushing Meadows, New York. He became the first American man to reach the last eight in the US Open since John Isner in 2018 and the youngest to accomplish the feat since Andy Roddick in 2006.

Before the game on Monday, Tiafoe had never won a set against Nadal, who was 2-0 up in their ATP head-to-head. "I'm beyond happy, almost in tears, I can't believe it. I played unbelievable tennis today. I really don't know what happened," Tiafoe said in his on-court interview.

Meanwhile, Nadal, who was aiming to win a record-extending 23rd Grand Slam, said that he cannot make any excuses and needs to accept that Tiafoe played much better than him on Monday.

"We can make lamentations or we can complain now about a lot of things, but I don't think that [is] going to change any situation. We can think, if I [didn't] get injured, maybe I win Wimbledon. Maybe I win [other] things [in] the past. Or maybe I lost [other] things because I was not able to create this interior power after all that injuries.

"That's part of my career. A lot of times went the proper way; sometimes completely unexpected like Australia, like Roland Garros. Of course, this was not the ideal preparation for me. But in other cases went the right way, even with not the perfect preparation. We can't find excuses. We need to be enough critical with myself. That's the only way to improve or that's the only way that I understand you are able to find solutions," Nadal said after his US Open exit.

Tiafoe played an aggressive and clean game when compared to Nadal. The American struck 49 winners and just 28 unforced errors.

"The difference is easy: I played a bad match and he played a good match. In the end that's it. I was not able to hold a high level of tennis for a long time. I was not enough quick with my movements. He was able to take the ball too many times very early, so I was not able to push him back.

"Tennis is a sport of position a lot of times. If not, you need to be very, very quick and very young. I am not in that moment anymore. My shots needed to be better. In some way my understanding of the game and the quality of my shots were not good enough, were poor, I think I have to say today because I was not able to create that much [against] him," added Nadal in the same interview.

The 36-year-old Nadal, who won the first two majors of the year at the Australian Open and Roland Garros, is currently No. 1 in the ATP Live Rankings. However, his defeat has opened the World No. 1 door for his young compatriot Carlos Alcaraz and Norway's Casper Ruud.