Pouille, seeded24th, dispatches4th seed Nadal
[...] more than four hours into the toughest test he’s put his left wrist through since returning from injury, Nadal faltered.
Nadal was upset in the U.S. Open’s fourth round by 24th-seeded Lucas Pouille of France 6-1, 2-6, 6-4, 3-6, 7-6 (6) on Sunday, prolonging the 14-time Grand Slam title winner’s quarterfinal drought at major tournaments.
Since losing in last year’s French Open quarterfinals, Nadal has failed to make it beyond the fourth round at a major.
[...] he pulled out of the French Open before his third-round match because of a torn tendon sheath in his left wrist, an injury that forced him to withdraw from Wimbledon altogether and miss about 2½ months on tour in all.
Pouille holding his first three match points at 6-3.
Given their relative histories — Pouille had not been to a Grand Slam quarterfinal until Wimbledon this year — Nadal might have been considered the favorite at that moment.
On one such seemingly easy ball to exploit, Nadal, 30, moved forward and whipped that big forehand of his, only to see his reply smack the net.
Pouille will face Monfils, a 6-3, 6-2, 6-3 winner over 2006 Australian Open runner-up Marcos Baghdatis, who received a warning for unsportsmanlike conduct for using his cell phone during a second-set changeover.
In the women’s quarterfinals, it’ll be 2015 runner-up Roberta Vinci against No. 2 Angelique Kerber, and two-time finalist Caroline Wozniacki against 48th-ranked Anastasija Sevastova of Latvia.