In his first appearance in the fourth round of the US Open against one of the best players in the world, however, Norrie produced a rare poor performance and was penalized for it. Norrie fell typically, with only a short, angry surge at the end, losing 6-4, 6-4, 6-4 to Andrey Rublev. “I started the match really well, really relaxed and played well, served well,” Norrie said. “I felt maybe a little too relaxed and too low energy. I do not know why. But, yeah, I went through a scene in the second set, I wasn’t hitting my backhand, I was missing a lot. Mistakes on my part were not like myself.” Later in the day, 22nd-ranked Francis Tiafoe took a giant step towards fulfilling his great potential as he claimed the biggest win of his career in front of a raucous home crowd at Arthur Ashe Stadium, upsetting second seed Rafael Nadal. 6-4, 4-6, 6-4, 6-3 to reach the US Open quarterfinals for the first time in his career. It is the first time since Wimbledon in 2017 that Nadal has lost before the quarter-finals of a grand slam. “I don’t even know what to say right now. I’m very happy, I’m almost in tears,” Tiafoe said afterwards. “I can not believe it. He is definitely one of the greatest of all time. I played incredible tennis today. I don’t know what happened.” After a solid start from both on Armstrong, Norrie gradually settled down as his number of mistakes increased. By the end of the first set, he had committed 12 unforced errors, exactly twice as many as Rublev. Norrie particularly struggled with his range and timing on his backhand wing, usually a hard hit, which floats errors for a long time. In front of the net, Rublev didn’t give up. He was extremely sharp and focused whenever Norrie threatened to pull himself back into the race and build some momentum. Even when rain began to fall over Queens in set two, leading to two long delays, Rublev eased to victory. Francis Tiafoe celebrates his emotional victory over Rafael Nadal. Photo: Frey/TPN/Getty Images “It can happen. I felt that Rublev was the better player, and he really didn’t give me a chance whenever I had momentum, to get back into the match, and he was very solid. Yes, I did some things very well today, but not enough,” he said Norrie. In the end, Norrie produced one of his worst performances of the summer at an inopportune time. Despite performing well below his lofty standards, however, a rough day doesn’t dampen the glow around Norrie and the huge progress he’s made. There will be no time to dwell on defeat as the Davis Cup finals groups begin in Glasgow next week. Not long after Rublev finished signing every autograph for Armstrong, his potential quarter-final opponents stepped up to Ace. In the fourth round in a row at the US Open, and having reached the fourth round at Wimbledon earlier this summer, Tiafoe arrived on the biggest tennis court in the world full of confidence in his ability to pull off a big win. Quick guide
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Thanks for your response. He started as such, serving flawlessly playing aggressive tennis without nervousness along with all his talent. Even when Nadal leveled the match at one set and then looked to be hitting as Tiafoe showed nerves late in the third set, Nadal continued to push him. He refused to falter. Tiafoe served two bold down-the-line forehand winners followed by a no-return serve. After trailing 3-1 in the fourth set, Tiafoe reeled off five straight games, dropping an ace after a tense, tight service game at 4-3, then played the return of his life to grab the win without hesitation. “My legs were like cement,” Tiafoe said. “I was like, ‘Just get out of the game, get out of the game,’ and I did.”
