US Open will see a first-time men’s Slam winner with all eight players left having never won a major before… after Rafa Nadal, Daniil Medvedev and Marin Cilic crashed out in the fourth round in New York
- All eight players left in the US Open men’s singles draw have never won a Slam
- Previous winners Nadal, Cilic and Medvedev exited at the fourth round stage
- 22-time Slam winner Nadal said he wasn’t sure when he would play again
- Nick Kyrgios, Matteo Berrettini and Casper Ruud have reached finals before
The US Open will provide us with a first-time men’s Grand Slam champion after Rafael Nadal, Marin Cilic and Daniil Medvedev all crashed out at the fourth round stage.
All eight players remaining in the New York draw have never won a major title, meaning there’s everything to play for in a wide open draw.
22-time Slam champion Nadal, 36, lost to Frances Tiafoe on Monday night in the Spaniard’s first loss in a top event during this calendar year.
Frances Tiafoe celebrates his win over Rafael Nadal to reach the US Open quarter-finals
Nadal waves goodbye after his defeat and said he didn’t know when he would play again
Nick Kyrgios got the better of reigning champion Daniil Medvedev in their fourth round match
Russian Medvedev, 26, who won last year’s US Open, went out to Wimbledon finalist Nick Kyrgios in his fourth round encounter.
Cilic, meanwhile, who won in New York back in 2014 – his only Slam win – was beaten by Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz in a five-set epic.
Also through to the quarter-finals are Karen Khachanov, Matteo Berrettini, Casper Ruud, Jannik Sinner and Andrey Rublev, who are all trying to win their first Slam title.
Berrettini reached last year’s Wimbledon final, losing to Novak Djokovic, while Ruud was beaten by Nadal in the French Open final earlier this year.
Khachanov, Sinner and Rublev have never progressed beyond the quarter-finals at one of the big four events, so have now matched their best runs.
Exciting Spanish talent Alcaraz, 19, has also never got past the last eight in a Slam.
The quarter-final matches will see Kyrgios play Khachanov, Berrettini face Ruud, Sinner play Alcaraz and Rublev take on Tiafoe.
They are set to be played on Tuesday and Wednesday.
Nadal admitted he doesn’t know when he will play again after losing in the fourth round to Tiafoe. His wife Maria is pregnant with their first child.
2014 US Open champion Marin Cilic (right) was beaten over five sets by Carlos Alcaraz
Matteo Berrettini celebrates his win over Andy Murray earlier in the Flushing Meadows Slam
‘I need to go back. I need to fix things, life, then I don’t know when I’m going to come back,’ Nadal said.
‘I’m going to try to be ready mentally. When I feel that I will be ready to compete again, I will be there.’
Nadal is scheduled to take part in the Laver Cup alongside Roger Federer, Djokovic and Andy Murray, in London between September 23-25.
Russian Rublev got the better of Great Britain’s Cameron Norrie in their fourth round encounter, winning in straight sets.
Alcaraz, who remains in contention to pip Nadal to the number one ranking, completed a 6-4 3-6 6-4 4-6 6-3 victory over Cilic at close to 2.30am.
In the last eight he will take on fellow young gun Jannik Sinner, who also needed five sets to defeat surprise package Ilya Ivashka 6-1 5-7 6-2 4-6 6-3.
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