Rafael Nadal loses perfect Grand Slam record in 2022 as he crashes out of US Open

| by Evita Mueller

After winning the Australian Open and Roland Garros, Rafael Nadal withdrew from his semifinal match at Wimbledon and so he was entering the 2022 US Open with a perfect record at Grand Slam tournaments.

The 22-time Grand Slam champion entered the US Open draw with 19 victories at Grand Slam tournaments and number 2 next to his name indicating that he's the second seeded at the last major of the season.

After defeating Rinky Hijikata, Fabio Fognini and Richard Gasquet, the Spaniard took on Frances Tiafoe who was the only American player left in the draw. Previously, they met twice in 2019 and Nadal never lost a set.

"Rafa would have retired if he hadn’t evolved" - coach Moya on Nadal's evolution
"Rafa would have retired if he hadn’t evolved" - coach Moya on Nadal's evolution

But their fourth round meeting at the 2022 US Open was different. The American played really well on his serve in the first set and he was the only player to have a break point. Moreover, he managed to used it and so after 55 minutes, he won the first set 6-4.

However, in the second set, Nadal showed his experience and massively improved on his serve. He didn't face any break points and created two chances to break his opponent in the tenth game. He used the second one to win the set 6-4 and level the score of the match.

Yet, the third set was directed by the American again. Tiafoe hit 5 aces and once again he used his only chance to break his opponent to win the set 6-4.

In the fourth set, it was again Nadal who broke his opponent first and he was looking to level score of the match once again. But Tiafoe started playing really well and he won 5 games in a row to win the set and match 6-4, 4-6, 6-4, 6-3 and become the first man to defeat Rafael Nadal at a Grand Slam tournament in 2022.

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