Frances Tiafoe (right) has lost two previous meetings with Rafael Nadal. Rafael Nadal was beaten for the first time at a Grand Slam in 2022 when he lost to Frances Tiafoe in the fourth round of the US Open.
American Tiafoe thrilled the home crowd with a 6-4, 4-6, 6-4, 6-3 victory over four-time champion Nadal in New York.
The loss ended the Spaniard's pursuit of a record 23 major singles titles.
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Nadal led 3-1 in the fourth set before Tiafoe hit back, winning five games in a row to book a place in the quarter-finals.
He will face Russian ninth seed Andrey Rublev for a place in the semifinals in Flushing Meadows.
Tiafoe threw his racket to the ground and covered his face in disbelief as Nadal's backhand into the net confirmed his victory.
After thanking the crowd, he covered his face with a towel and soaked up the atmosphere of the roaring Arthur Ashe Stadium.
Nadal never settled in New York this year, but that doesn't take away from Tiafoe, who played a smart match.
The defeat means that Marin Cilic, who won the US Open title in 2014, is the only Grand Slam winner left in the men's draw.
Nadal spoiled Tiafoe's fun
Nadal entered this match with a 22-0 record at Grand Slams this year, having won the Australian Open and French Open titles before pulling out of Wimbledon with an abdominal injury after his quarter-final win.
This injury limited his preparation for the US Open. Nadal came to Flushing Meadows, and played only once since then, losing to Borno Coric in Cincinnati.
He struggled with fluency at times in New York, especially in his second-round match against Fabio Fognini, and showed similar nerves in his serve against Tiafoe.
After changing his serve to fend off a campaign-ending injury at Wimbledon, Nadal was robbed of speed and confidence on his serve and Tiafoe broke him for 3-3 in the first set.
In response, he managed to pressure Tiafoe, but the American held his serve and then converted his third set point with a nice touch into the net.
After losing the first set, Nadal disappeared from the court with a physiotherapist for eight minutes and appeared to have bandaged his wrists.
Although his serve never clicked and he ended up with nine double faults against nine aces, he was able to take advantage of a poor service game from Tiafoe at 5-4 in the second to take the set on a Tiafoe double fault.
The third set mirrored the first, with Tiafoe taking a 4-3 lead with a fine backhand winner and the American delighting the home crowd when he finished with an ace.
Nadal appeared invigorated in the fourth set, raising his fists and shouting at the crowd after saving a break point in the first game to take the lead.
Distracted by the roof being closed due to the threat of rain as he served at 2-1, Tiafoe produced a terrific service game, breaking Nadal with a big forehand into the corner of the court.
Tiafoe has suffered heavy losses in recent weeks, squandering solid positions against Taylor Fritz and Nick Kyrgios, but has shown no signs of timidity against Nadal.
He came right back, aided by two double faults from Nadal, and saved break points in his next service game with an excellent counterattack, before breaking Nadal twice more to seal the match.
Despite the loss, Nadal was able to move to the top of the men's rankings after the tournament after defending champion Daniil Medvedev's loss to Kyrgios.
Spain's Carlos Alcaraz and Norway's Casper Ruud would have to reach at least the final to have a chance to become world number one.
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