Frances Tiafoe pulled off the biggest win of his career when the 22nd-ranked American beat second-seeded Rafael Nadal 6-4, 4-6, 6-4, 6-3 to reach the US Open quarterfinals.
Tiafoe's victory ended Nadal’s 22-match winning streak at grand slam tournaments.
The 24-year-old American cried on the court after he shook hands with Nadal. He sat on the bench and buried his head in a towel as Nadal walked off and waved to the crowd.
Tiafoe is the youngest American to reach the quarterfinals since Andy Roddick did so, at 24, in 2006.
Nadal, a four-time US Open champion, was the highest-seeded player left after number-one seed Daniil Medvedev lost to Australia's Nick Kyrgios.
Tiafoe already was the first American man to reach the fourth round in three straight years since Mardy Fish in 2010-12.
"I'm beyond happy. I'm in tears here," Tiafoe said after the match.
"[Nadal] is one of the greatest of all time.
"When I went up 5-3, my legs were like lead. I was hoping to break so I didn't have to serve [out the match]."
Nadal is about as popular as it gets in tennis and heard plenty of support in the Arthur Ashe Stadium as the volume raised after the retractable roof was shut in the fourth set.
The Spanish great was 21-1 against American players since October 2017, which included straight-set wins over Tiafoe in the 2019 Australian Open quarterfinals and 2019 Madrid third round.
The result further opens up the draw for Australia's Nick Kyrgios, with only a maximum of three top-10 seeds left in the quarterfinals.
Number-three seed Carlos Alcaraz and number-nine seed Andrey Rublev are still in the tournament, while Norwegian fifth seed Casper Ruud has to beat Italy's Matteo Berretini to make the last eight.
Kyrgios, the 23rd seed, will play the 27th seed Karen Khachanov in the quarterfinals on Wednesday, as he seeks a maiden grand slam singles title.
Wires/ABC
