Nadal crashes out in US Open third round

Two-time champion Rafael Nadal crashed to his earliest US Open exit in 10 years when Italy’s Fabio Fognini pulled off a sensational five-set third round victory.

Fognini came back on Friday from two sets down to win 3-6 4-6 6-4 6-3 6-4.

The stunning result confirmed the sad, sudden decline of the 14-time major winner who, until this encounter, had won 151 grand slam matches when he had taken the first two sets.

Fognini, the 32nd seed, becomes the first Italian in the last 16 at the US Open since Davide Sanguinetti in 2005 and will face Spain’s Feliciano Lopez for a place in the quarter-finals.

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