Rafael Nadal set for lengthy break after shock defeat to Frances Tiafoe at US Open

Rafael Nadal said he was not sure when he would return to tennis after his shock defeat to American Frances Tiafoe in the fourth round of the US Open on Monday.

Four-time champion Nadal made his earliest exit from Flushing Meadows since 2016 following the 6-4, 4-6, 6-4, 6-3 loss to 22nd seed.

Tiafoe's free-swinging performance conjured up 18 aces and 49 winners which flew past a sluggish Nadal on Arthur Ashe Stadium.

For Australian and French Open champion Nadal, it was a first Grand Slam loss of 2022 after an abdominal strain forced him to forfeit his Wimbledon semi-final.

The defeat ended a run of 16 successive Grand Slams where the Spaniard had made at least the quarter-finals.

"I need to go back. I need to fix things. I don't know when I'm going to come back," Nadal, 36, told a press conference. "I going to try to be ready mentally. When I feel that I will be ready to compete again, I will be there."

Nadal has endured a rollercoaster year. His two major titles have taken him one clear of Novak Djokovic but his physical frailties have also returned to haunt him.

The Spaniard suffered a stress fracture of the ribs in March before requiring daily pain-killing injections in his left foot to see him through to a 14th French Open title in June. Then his bid for a third Wimbledon crown was shattered by an abdominal injury.

Nadal is due to become a father for the first time in the coming weeks, which will factor heavily into his future on-court plans.

"Now I have to go home, I have more important things than tennis to attend to," he said. "Decisions will be made based on how everything goes in my personal life, which comes before my professional life.

"It's been a bit difficult for a few months but I want to finish the year