Carlos Alcaraz defeats Frances Tiafoe at the US Open semifinals in a battle of tennis’ rising stars.
Rafael Nadal made it three-set matches at the 2018 U.S. Open when he upset two-time defending champion Novak Djokovic on Friday.
He became the first man to achieve this in a major, beating the two-time champion in the third round. It was the first time Nadal had done it when it was part of his record-setting 18-match win streak, which also included his first four Grand Slam titles.
“It’s a great moment in my career and my career,” Nadal said.
Djokovic, the No. 1-ranked player in the world, has been a major player since reaching his first Grand Slam final in 2005.
His last title came in 2014 and he fell short of his seventh major on Tuesday when he lost to Federer in the French Open semifinals.
At the U.S. Open, Nadal became the first player to have the top two rankings in both singles and doubles. The No. 2-ranked player in singles, Roger Federer, is also now the No. 1 player in the world in both singles and doubles. It was a historic day for the sport.
The first set was a tight one and Nadal led 6-5 before having an amazing run in the set.
He took down a backhand that almost landed on the line and then a baseline winner to break the tie and make it 6-4. He took control in the second set too with a big forehand winner to get it to 5-5.
Nadal showed that he was still in great shape. He broke the serve of two-time major champion Rafael Nadal for the first time in the third set and then broke his serve twice in the set to get it back to 5-6.
Nadal, the defending U.S. Open champion, had been on the outside of the top 50 in the world ranking recently but he had been on the outside of the top 100 for the better part of