A long-suffering Rafa Nadal fell in the round of 16 in Rome after losing to Canadian Denis Shapovalov, who knocked him down in a tough battle (1-6, 7-5, 6-2 in 2 hours 37 minutes). The worst thing that the manacorense was seen very touched in the left foot. His limp became apparent in the third moto.
The previous matches between the Canadian and Nadal had been an ordeal for the Balearic. He had taken them forward but to the limit. He took him to the fifth set in the last Australian Open and to the third last year, also in Rome. This time the same thing happened after various ups and downs.
Nadal took to the court ready not to speculate, to command from the beginning without waiting for the rival’s mistakes. His entire arsenal worked from the start. The right of him convincing of him. The sure setback of him. A competitive serve. With these arguments Shapovalov was quickly overcome. He held his serve in a very difficult first pull but then Nadal went over him like a whirlwind. He broke her serve in the fourth game and then in the sixth to finish off a nearly perfect set in 40 minutes (6-1).
In the second set the picture was complicated for Nadal, who squandered the options of breaking his opponent’s serve and then lost it. In a seen and unseen Shapovalov went 0-3 with a very clear strategy. Very open services that took Nadal off the track. Either it was Shapovalov’s ace or a forced return from Manacorense. You had to be patient. Nadal waited for his moment again and tied the game at four after three very tough games in which he resisted. But when it seemed that he had done the hard part he gave up the set in a game that he seemed to have dominated. From 30-0 to losing the serve and the partial (7-5). They were already over two hours into the match and everything remained to be decided.
Then Nadal began to limp noticeably in his left foot. Supports were getting harder and harder for him and he couldn’t continue to reply to Shapovalov, who ended up beating him 6-2. A tough defeat that can have consequences, with Roland Garros just around the corner.
As for the rest of the day, the favorites moved on. The Serbian Novak Djokovic had a good walk against another veteran like Stanislas Wawrinka. He defeated him by a double 6-2 and played with a lot of mettle. Much more had to sweat the Greek Stefanos Tsitsipas, who had to overcome a set to Khachanov (4-6, 6-0, 6-3). Also in the next round will be Alexander Zverev, who beat De Miñaur 6-3, 7-6 (5).
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