Rafael Nadal is out of the US Open after losing a five-set, third-round thriller to Italian Fabio Fognini at Flushing Meadows.
Rafa won the first two sets of the night against Fabioi 6–3, 6–4 before the Italian stormed back to take the next two 6–4, 6–3 and force a fifth set, which Fabio won 6–4.
This is the first time in 10 years that Rafa has not won a single slam in a given year. Our champ entered Friday 151–0 in Grand Slam matches where he wins the first two sets.
Win or lose, always with Rafa!
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Rafael Nadal, of Spain, rests during the change over after losing a game to Fabio Fognini, of Italy, in the fifth set of a match at the U.S. Open tennis tournament in New York, Saturday, Sept. 5, 2015. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)
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NEW YORK, NY – SEPTEMBER 04: Rafael Nadal of Spain reacts against Fabio Fognini of Italy on Day Five of the 2015 US Open at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center on September 4, 2015 in the Flushing neighborhood of the Queens borough of New York City. (Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NY – SEPTEMBER 04: (L-R) Rafael Nadal of Spain reacts shakes hands with Fabio Fognini of Italy after their match on Day Five of the 2015 US Open at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center on September 4, 2015 in the Flushing neighborhood of the Queens borough of New York City. (Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images)
on Day Five of the 2015 US Open at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center on September 4, 2015 in the Flushing neighborhood of the Queens borough of New York City.
NEW YORK, NY – SEPTEMBER 04: Rafael Nadal of Spain walks off the court after his loss to Fabio Fognini of Italy on Day Five of the 2015 US Open at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center on September 4, 2015 in the Flushing neighborhood of the Queens borough of New York City. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NY – SEPTEMBER 04: Rafael Nadal of Spain walks off the court after his loss to Fabio Fognini of Italy on Day Five of the 2015 US Open at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center on September 4, 2015 in the Flushing neighborhood of the Queens borough of New York City. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NY – SEPTEMBER 04: Rafael Nadal of Spain walks off the court after his loss to Fabio Fognini of Italy on Day Five of the 2015 US Open at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center on September 4, 2015 in the Flushing neighborhood of the Queens borough of New York City. (Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NY – SEPTEMBER 04: Rafael Nadal of Spain walks off the court after his loss to Fabio Fognini of Italy on Day Five of the 2015 US Open at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center on September 4, 2015 in the Flushing neighborhood of the Queens borough of New York City. (Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NY – SEPTEMBER 04: Rafael Nadal of Spain walks off the court after his loss to Fabio Fognini of Italy on Day Five of the 2015 US Open at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center on September 4, 2015 in the Flushing neighborhood of the Queens borough of New York City. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NY – SEPTEMBER 04: Rafael Nadal of Spain walks off the court after his loss to Fabio Fognini of Italy on Day Five of the 2015 US Open at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center on September 4, 2015 in the Flushing neighborhood of the Queens borough of New York City. (Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images)
Source: SI.com
It’s ALRIGHT RAFA! For me still MUY BIEN! You fought HARD! You fight to the FULLEST & with that alone YOU ARE ALWAYS MY CHAMP! In life there are UPs&DOWNs & no great players who didn’t pass through that situation. Afterall you always do your best & WHO DOESN’T WANT TO WIN? wE KNOW YOU WANTED TO WIN NOT ONLY FOR YOURSELF BUT US FANS,,, SO IT’S ALRIGHT!!! CHEERS RAFA! LOOK FORWARD TO THE NEXT TOURNAMENT. WE’LL BE HERE FOR YOU. VAMOS!
Let’s accept that Rafa was never going to advance past the QFs… Djoker would have force fed him a triple bagel:) It’s better to lose now, go home and reassess his game and/or mindset.
Rafa played OK in the first 2 sets, at which point I went to sleep. How could he lose? So I woke up and saw the final score- I thought I was dreaming! Almost threw my phone across the room:) Anyhow, 70 winners? Not much anyone could do against such a tide but hold on and hope some errors creep in. Fabio deserved to win because he took the game to Nadal. Fortune favoured the brave.
And even if Rafa had managed to beat the Fog, he lost recently to Lopez, so even getting past that one wasn’t a given. All said and done, best to lose now and go back to the drawing board.
Rafa is confused, but in no way is he a spent force. He just needs to redirect his energies into a proper style of play or mental focus, and the winning ways will be back.
Always with you Rafa!
Family is more important than tennis guys.. nothing more nothing less… I don’t know wat ppl like fan love are talking about.. sometimes wonder in some folks here are just taking the micky out of true rafa and tennis fans… so close etc.. crazy.. anyone who saw him play r2 would b happy that it was a 5 set defeat and not a straight set wipe out.. tennis favors shot makers now.. unless rafa changes his patterns he will never going to win anything atp 500 or above outside of clay. Ya he is no 8.. but his game can come unstuck against any top 50.. v predictable with a weak serve.. weak predictable bh.. which is 90% cross court… love him.. but looks like he is cashing out with family and endorsements.. he could have been the goat.. but unfortunately this is it i guess 🙁
What I predicted pre HC swing happened. And I got slaughtered here. I think I am one of the very few here who can see how Nadal’s level is. It was shit even in Hamburg but you would not let me point it out.
So what?
I, too was so sad when I saw Rafael walking towards his locker room with his head down. Tears welled up in my eyes n my heart was breaking for him as he is a wonderful boy who will not show his feelings in public. Vamos Rafael. Your Aussie Abuela.
I, too was so sad seeing Rafael walk towards the locker room with his head down, n tears filled my eyes as my heart was breaking for this wonderful boy who does not show his pain in public. Vamos Rafael.
Maybe dont have to feel so sad, just write off this season and hope he does well next year. Its with no expectations that we wont feel sad when he loses. I think he’ll get a beatdown by Novak even if he wins this match, may not be all that bad losing now. He has to work on his fitness as it seems he really couldnt deal with the humidity and it seems its humidity everywhere these days at all the slams. Im glad he didnt suffer any cramps during his matches.
Sad part is, at the end of the season rafa finds himself at the same spot where he was at the beginig of the year……
Fogini got in rafas mind
Hard to digest how can player like rafa after 2-0 lead in match can’t find way for rest of 3 sets
Rafa is obviously not ready to go deep at a HC slam, maybe we are expecting too much too soon? He has his mid match lapses here for all three matches but Fog is the one who can fully capitalize on it.
Fog is the kind of players who can give Rafa problems anywhere, hitting hard and flat. Rafa’s serves collapsed mid match and so he was broken so many times! He should have finished the match in three sets but threw it away in five! Its a massive collapse, time to rethink his approach or even the way he plays.
There are 50+ players out there who can trouble Rafa nowadays. To just point at Fog is naive.
Well did he lose to Coric or Diego?? Did he lose all his 59 matches this year to those at least 50 players?
Please dont insult our intelligence!
So sad…. Always with you. Vamos Rafa!
I’m really sad, my hopes went up and down. I only watched the 5th set and from what I could see, RAFA needs to improve that serve by a hell of a lot. It’s costing him big time. Another thing that I believe can improve his game is if he starts to swing fully more often, with his forehand. Instead of going behind his head with the swing 90 % of the time.
When Rafa practices he uses a regular swing. Might be a thing that he can try to do more often?
If he can get his seve in good shape then 2016 could be a funny season. You can do it champ!
// Nr.1 fan
Holy shit he served perfect with swarzman.
Well the aim isn’t to serve well against a nobody. It is to do it consistently against the good players. He needs to get more power from the first serve and nowadays the second serve lands to short.
To win one game on serve in the 5th isn’t good enough. But I am 100 % that our champ will turn it around.
I expect Rafa to have a season comparable to Federer’s 2014 or Murray’s 2016, next year.
Rafael, I am proud of you. You did not throw your racket when you were down a point. You will make a come-back like Roger F. Many pundits wrote him off n he has proved them so wrong. Take a break n do happy things for the next couple of weeks. Your fans will always be barracking for you. Go home n look at the many trophies you have won Rafael. This will show you what a champ you are n lift your spirits. You are a legend my boy. Bravo Rafa. Vamos Rafa. God bless you. I hope to see you at the Australian Open 2016 in person? Your Aussie Abuela.
With all respect, but why should Rafa keep on taking breaks all the time? Now is the time he should practice more than anyone to prepare for 2016. Get that new racket now and start getting used to it. It feels like if Tennis has been secondary this season.
He can get back, no doubt. Fognini played amazing, but if Rafa had had a reliable serve the match had been over. In the rallies that I saw, the forehand was looking better again and he was going a bit more down the line with the backhand.
I Love RAFA and I have been his biggest supporter since I was 7 years old (soon 17), but he needs to get back to his old mentality… Work harder than all of his competitors. Rafa can do it but more work with that serve needs to be done.
Sweet Rafa, you were wonderful. I haven’t seen you play so well this entire year. You are getting back to form and watching you was thrilling. You hung in there and fought hard. I admire that kind of determination.
Fognini is not better than you. Just healthier. I’ve had a couple of surgeries myself and it takes time to get one’s stamina back. But you will. You are almost there. My very best wishes, dear Rafa.
It is sad to see you lose, after two beautiful sets. Please remember that you are a damn good player. Please work on your confidence, try to change your game. May be something like Roger
. Will always be your loyal fan. Loveeeeeeeeeeeeeee you Rafa 💗.
Will have to wait for your next tournament.
VAMOS DEAR RAFA!!!!!!!!! : ) : ) Very very very close….. you very nearly done him in at the end of the 3rd set ………and next time you will!!!!! Somehow a couple of points made the difference …… PLEASE ENJOY YOUR EFFORTS & BE PROUD & KNOW YOU PLAYED A GREAT HC MATCH!!!!!! : ) YOU ARE amazing ……keeping up your endurance & point by point focus for so long……and so late at night……. THERE WILL BE other OPPORTUNITIES AHEAD !!!!!!!!!!! Tonight, VAMOS for all the great points & the great energy you had in this 5 set happening………..You played GREAT!!!!!!!!!! Have a good night and God bless you!!!!! : ) Best wishes & lots of love & support for you & your team !!!!! Sweet dreams sweetheart & take great care of yourself!!!!!
Fan Love : please shut up. tired of your freaking nonsense. He played like the crap for god sake.
What I am not surprised? Rafa won’t win any major unless he changes his game. His returns are so awful. His serves were pathetic. daman any player can beat Rafa these days.
He needs to retire and go fishing.
what a pathetic msg
I saw this happening and this is what it is. The Nadal of 2015 battles for 5 sets with sub top players and wins one and loses another. The other big 4 players are in an entirely different league. Slam winning years are over.
Sad for you! We love you! Don’t give up! Your fans are behind you all the Way! 😘
Just sad:( great two sets and than something went wrong. I don’t know what to say at the moment!
Always with you <3 <3 <3
So sad watching Rafa walk back to the locker room with his head bowed….