US Open: Frances Tiafoe - again in the Viennese intoxication
Frances Tiafoe caused the biggest upset at the US Open 2022 with his win against Rafael Nadal. The chances of progressing to the semi-finals are pretty good for the American.
by Jens Huiber
last edit: Sep 06, 2022, 08:55 am
Frances Tiafoe, we don't want to leave this unmentioned at this point, had major problems with Lucas Miedler less than a year ago. Which of course speaks for the always creative Lower Austrian. Because who could have guessed last October that after Miedler in the Wiener Stadthalle, Tiafoe would also pull off Dusan Lajovic, Stefanos Tsitsipas, Diego Schwartzman and Jannik Sinner in a relaxed manner? And only lose against Alexander Zverev in the final? About the same few observers who thought that Tiafoe could become a stumbling block for Rafael Nadal at the 2022 US Open.
Yes, Tiafoe had also defeated Schwartzman in New York City, in three sets at that. But Rafael Nadal, who has yet to lose a match at a Major this season? It's a completely different, much bigger number. But he made a large number of offers to his opponent this Monday afternoon, which Tiafoe knew how to use. Unlike his compatriot Taylor Fritz in the Wimbledon quarter-finals.
Rublev with minus record in major quarterfinals
After that match, Nadal had to end his London adventure because a torn abdominal muscle bothered him. In the match against Tiafoe, you couldn't quite shake the impression that the Spanish grandmaster was not acting at the height of his creativity. Nine double faults - that was far too much of a bad thing in the end.
Wayne Ferreira has also spread in Tiafoe's very well occupied box (Nadal's was also full as always). He was already on the road in Vienna with "Big Foe" last year, it's a connection that doesn't necessarily come to mind at first glance. The tennis year 2022 was not yet blessed with great successes, except for the final participation in Estoril (where Tiafoe lost to Sebastian Baez).
But now Frances Tiafoe suddenly has the chance to reach the semi-finals of a major for the first time. And that's not so unlikely: On the one hand, Tiafoe defeated his upcoming opponent Andrey Rublev in five sets at the US Open last year. And: Rublev is in the quarterfinals of a Grand Slam tournament for the sixth time. And in the previous five attempts, some failed terrifically.
Here the individual tableau in New York
nycmap