Frances Tiafoe beat the Spaniard 6-4, 4-6, 6-4, 6-3 to enter the top eight of the American Grand Slam. It’s now up to Alcaraz and Ruud to see if they can take the lead in the Balearic Islands standings.
Rafael Nadal (3rd) lost his first Grand Slam match in 2022. He did so in New York, when he had the great fortune to be world number one and further extend his advantage as the greatest Grand Slam winner in history. The executioner was Frances Tiafoe (26th), who played spectacular tennis and hit the ground running. dream of being the first American to win the US Open since Roddick in 2003.
A meeting where the best version of Spanish was far from arriving. Despite the fact that he beat Richard Gasquet two days ago, the sensations of “Rafa” were not the best. Even with signs of lack of rhythm games were getting complicated these days in the Big Apple and that abysmal superiority he sometimes exhibits hadn’t shown.
Elements from which a Tiafoe took advantage which has now regained enormous form. He shaved his serve and beat the Spaniard with a confidence that was through the roof reinforced by the scenario and the rival that was measured.
Concretely it was 6-4, 4-6, 6-4 and 6-3 in three hours and 34 minutes . A scoreboard that shows how close the game was, but where the Maryland native’s victory was never in question. He’s always been fresher, leaner and more powerful than the Spaniard, who will now have to wait to see if he can be world number one next week.
And it is that now there are two players who can win the chance to be at the top of the planetary ranking: Carlos Alcaraz and Casper Ruud.
Now, what must happen for one of them to overtake the Spaniard in the standings on Monday? The answer is clear: reach the final of the US Open. If Alcaraz or Ruud secure a place in the final of the last major tournament of the year, the Spaniard will have no mathematical chance of returning to the top of the ATP. .
If one of them manages to reach the final of the event, he will already be number one on the planet. If on the contrary, the US Open final is between the two (they go different sides of the draw) this match will define the new monarch of the tour.
Tiafoe for her part is far from this battle, but in the midst of lightning. His victory against the best Spanish athlete in history revived the illusion of the North American public to see a local player being champion in New York.
The last time that happened was when Andy Roddick celebrated at Flushing Meadows in 2003, even marking the last celebration of an American at a Grand Slam. In fact, since 2009, none of them have reached a final.
Something they hope will now change. The first rival for this will be Andrey Rublev (11th) who today beat Cameron Norrie (9th) by a triple 6-4 and ensured to face the executioner of Nadal in the quarter-finals. Emotions are running high at Corona Park as the chances of a new Grand Slam champion also increase: players still alive, Only Marin Cilic knows what it’s like to win big.
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Source: Latercera
I’m Todderic Kirkman, a journalist and author for athletistic. I specialize in covering all news related to sports, ranging from basketball to football and everything in between. With over 10 years of experience in the industry, I have become an invaluable asset to my team. My ambition is to bring the most up-to-date information on sports topics around the world.
