Memorable moments of US Open day 8:In one of the biggest upsets of the 2022 US Open, 24-year-old American Frances Tiafoe–the No. 22 seed at this tournament–defeated 22-time Grand Slam champion, and No. 2 seed Rafael Nadal on Monday at the 2022 US Open. It took the Maryland native four sets and three-and-a-half hours to clinch victory in Arthur Ashe Stadium.
Other big winners as the Round of 16 came to a close and the final eight of each draw advanced: Jessica Pegula took down two-time Wimbledon winner Petra Kvitova, 6-3, 6-2, while Aryna Sabalenka squeaked out a three-set win over American Danielle Collins, 3-6, 6-3, 6-2 in Ashe.
In Louis Armstrong Stadium, Iga Swiatek, the world No. 1, finished Jule Niemeier’s run in a 2-6, 6-4, 6-0 fourth-round epic. No. 22 seed Karolina Pliskova followed that with an even longer match, ousting No. 26 seed Victoria Azarenka 7-5, 6(5)-7, 6-2.
In the final Armstrong match of the night (and early morning), Italy’s Jannik Sinner took out Ilya Ivashka in five sets over almost four hours.
But Carlos Alcaraz saved (one of) the best for last, defeating Marin Cilic in three hours, 54 minutes: 6-4, 3-6, 6-4, 4-6, 6-3.
In Arthur Ashe Stadium:
Tiafoe played the match of his life in defeating Spain’s Nadal.
The American ripped 18 aces and landed 49 winners over 3 hours and 34 minutes.
Even with a 3-1 lead in the fourth, Nadal couldn’t keep up with an aggressive, speedy opponent who wouldn’t back down.
After winning with a break of Nadal’s serve, Tiafoe hugged his opponent at the net and then cradled his face with his hands. The crowd roared with approval.
“I played unbelievable tennis today,” Tiafoe said in a post-match, on-court interview. “I really don’t even know what happened.”
Just before Tiafoe’s major victory, compatriot Pegula of New York defeated Kvitova in one of the day’s shortest matches–73 minutes. “I knew Petra was going to be really tough because she can hit winners from every end of the court,” Pegula said post-match, after earning her first trip to the US Open quarterfinals. “But I handled myself well, and this is the first time I’ve beaten her too, so that’s really nice.”
But Collins, from Florida, couldn’t keep her dream alive: No. 6 seed Aryna Sabalenka came back from a set down to take their match and earn a quarterfinal berth.
Speaking of dreams: While most people rested in the city that never sleeps, Alcaraz and Cilic slugged it out in a marathon match. The Spaniard topped the Croat just before 2:30 a.m., rounding out the quarterfinal berths.
In Louis Armstrong Stadium:
Louis Armstrong housed another series of increasingly hard-earned quarterfinal berths on Monday. Andrey Rublev handled Cameron Norrie in straight sets; world No. 1 Swiatek managed Niemeier in three sets; Pliskova squeaked past Azarenka in a three-hour, three-setter after losing a second-set tiebreak; and Sinner grinded through five sets and came back from a break down in the fifth to win a three-hour, 48-minute match against Ivashka.
“I’m just proud I didn’t lose hope,” Swiatek said after winning. “In the second set, I tried to focus on small things. I’m pretty glad it worked.”
The Grandstand:
The Grandstand–and a few other courts around the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center–exclusively hosted doubles matches on Monday. A few standouts: Singles quarterfinalist Caroline Garcia of France and compatriot Kristina Mladenovic took out the fourth-seeded team of Lyudmyla Kichenok and Jelena Ostapenko to reach the women’s doubles quarterfinals, while the eighth-seeded pairing of Aussies Nick Kyrgios and Thanasi Kokkinakis–one of the highest-profiles doubles teams–lost to Lloyd Glasspool and Harri Heliovaara after two tiebreaks.
Mixed doubles saw quarterfinals matches, with Shuai Zhang and Mate Pavic–the tournament’s No. 2 seeds–winning via match tiebreak: 7-6(5), 4-6, [10-3].
Juniors:
The junior competitions also continued, with Round 1 doubles play and Rounds 1 and 2 of singles play. Boys’ No. 2 seed Gilles Arnaud Bailly of Belgium advanced in three sets, while No. 4 seed Celine Naef of Switzerland earned a 6-0, 6-1 victory.
No. 3 seed Liv Hovde of the United States advanced to the second round .
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