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Tiafoe, a 24-year-old Hyattsville native out of Prince George's County, took down future Hall of Famer Rafael Nadal, the number two seed, in the fourth round at Arthur Ashe Stadium in Queens, much to the shock and delight of many.
The underdog (22nd seed) topped the legend 6-4, 4-6, 6-4, 6-3 to snap Nadal's 22-match Grand Slam winning streak and puts him one step closer to a potential first major championship.
Tiafoe’s unexpected victory drew the attention of the world, with everyone from Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan to NBA star LeBron James commenting on the win after he took down Nadal.
“CONGRATS Young King!!! You earned it!” the NBA superstar posted on Twitter with a video of Tiafoe’s triumphant moment. “KEEP GOING!!!!!”
ESPN journalist Cari Champion noted that Tiafoe's emergence comes as all-time great Serena Williams effectively retired at the US Open.
Lebron wasn't the only NBA star celebrating, with Philadelphia 76ers star forwards Tobias Harris and Joel Embiid jumping on the bandwagon.
Tiafoe, who was hyped as the next potential American tennis star as a teen, will face Russian Andrey Rublev in the quarterfinal with a shot to make it to the final four of the tournament.
“I just had a big passion for the game. Not even mainly for me, but to do it for them. To see them experience me beat Rafa Nadal, they've seen me have big wins, but to beat those Mount Rushmore guys, for them, I can't imagine what was going through their heads,” Tiafoe said to CNN Sports about his parents, who immigrated to the US from Sierra Leone and were in attendance in Queens to see the upset.
"Yeah, I mean, they're going to remember today for the rest of their lives."
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