Rafael Nadal is defeated by Frances Tiafoe to get to the U.S. Open quarterfinals.
One of the best young showmen in the sport is Tiafoe, the son of immigrants from Sierra Leone who studied tennis at the Junior Tennis Champions Center in College Park.
His performances at the U.S. Open sometimes resemble wrestling matches more than tennis matches because of the boisterous audience.
On Monday, he eliminated the 22-time Grand Slam champion with a shrewd 6-4, 4-6, 6-4, 6-3 victory over Rafael Nadal, showing the tactician's discipline.
He has advanced to the second major quarterfinal of his career and his first U.S. Open quarterfinal.
Since Roger Federer's dominance started in 2003, the Grand Slam draw for men's tennis may be the most open it has ever been.
Nadal was prevented by Tiafoe's triumph from extending his lead over Novak Djokovic (21) and Roger Federer (20) in Grand Slam victories. He was the first man this year to defeat Nadal in a major.
On Monday, Nadal's lack of planning was evident. He had nine double errors compared to nine aces, while Tiafoe racked up 18 aces to just four errors.
Tiafoe broke Nadal to lead 4-3 in the third set after the first two were tied.He closed up the set with an ace and a couple of reserved fist pumps after earning double set point with two strokes down the line to win the set.
However, Nadal served two double faults in the following game, and Tiafoe didn't let the opportunity pass him by. After defeating Nadal, he recovered from a 15-40 deficit to tie the game at three.
After that, he won three straight games with ease.Tiafoe became the second American on Monday to get to a U.S. Open quarterfinal with the victory.