With the current suspension of the ATP and WTA Tours, we are opening up our US Open vault to bring you full match videos of classic encounters through the years in New York.
Watch on YouTube: Lucas Pouille vs. Rafael Nadal, 2016 US Open men's singles fourth round
Fresh off a Wimbledon quarterfinal run earlier in the summer of 2016, 22-year-old Lucas Pouille was looking to establish himself as a regular in the second week of the Slams at the US Open. Like at Wimbledon, he was making his second main-draw appearance in New York after a first-round exit the year before.
The Frenchman faced off against Rafael Nadal in the Round of 16, and the Arthur Ashe Stadium crowd was treated to four hours and five sets of drama, which delayed the start of the evening session. Fittingly, it ended in a fifth-set tiebreak, with Pouille snatching victory on his fourth match point.
It was the first—and to date, only—Top-5 win of Pouille's career. The No. 24 seed's run ended at the hands of countryman Gael Monfils in the quarterfinals. In 2019, Pouille reached the Australian Open semis, marking his best Grand Slam finish.
Nadal bounced back from a dismal 2016 at the Slams to win both the French Open and US Open in 2017, as well as a memorable final run at the Australian Open, which culminated in an epic final against Roger Federer.
The complete Pouille-Nadal match is now available to watch on the US Open YouTube channel. For a coming attraction, view the match highlights below.
