It took three rounds, but we finally have our first major upset on the men’s side of the U.S. Open. World No. 32 Fabio Fognini, a 28-year-old Italian whose best ever finish at a major tournament came at the 2011 French Open, upended world No. 8 Rafael Nadal in five sets, 3-6, 4-6, 6-4, 6-3, 6-4.
This match marked the first time in Nadal’s illustrious career that he lost at a Grand Slam after winning the first two sets of a match. It is also the first time that Nadal was bounced in the third round of the U.S. Open since 2005, when American James Blake took the Spaniard down in four sets, and the third time this year that Fognini took down Nadal.
After the match, Nadal summed up his disappointment to the media, pointing out that this is the first time since since 2005 that he will not win a Grand Slam.
“The only thing this means is I played worse than the last 10 years,” said the 14-time Grand Slam winner. “That’s the real thing. By the way, for me it was amazing to win 10 years in a row a Grand Slam… You can imagine how difficult it is to make that happen. I have to accept that it was not my year and keep fighting till the end of the season to finish in a positive way.”
As for Fognini, he will go on to face Nadal’s countryman, Feliciano Lopez, in the fourth round of the tournament. He has one Grand Slam title, but it was as a doubles competitor in this year’s Australian Open. Maybe the Italian will shock the world and win his first singles title in Queens.
(via BBC Sport)
