By Dwight Casimere
Frances Tiafoe made history on Labor Day in his upset victory over World No.2 Rafael Nadal in the Round of 16 at the US Open. He ended the World No. 2’s 22 Grand Slam streak in a four-set win, 6-4,4-6,6-4,6-3. Until Labor Day, Nadal had not lost a sing match this year in a major.
He is only the third American to defeat Nadal in a major, the others being Andy Roddick and ESPN commentator James Blake. Tiafoe is also the first African American man to reach the US Open quarterfinals since Blake in 2006.
Tiafoe is entering the quarterfinals for the first time in his career. If he goes all the way to a trophy, he will be the first African American man to win the US Open since Arthur Ashe in 1968.
In responding to reporters in a post-game news conference, Nadal summed up his defeat in just a few words. “Easy. I played a bad match and he played a good match. At the end, that’s it.“
Nadal’s answer was a curt dismissal when asked by a reporter about his taking a medical time out at the end of the first set. “I put on some bandage to stop the humidity. That’s all.”
Frances Tiafoe takes on Russia’s Andrey Rublev at Noon on Wednesday CT in the US Open quarterfinal on Arthur Ashe.