Denis Shapovalov defeated Rafael Nadal for the second time in six racing games on Thursday, reaching the quarter-finals in Rome.
The Canadian defeated the Spanish 1-6, 7-5 and 6-2, in 2 h 39 min.
As the fight went on, Nadal seemed to diminish; disturbed left foot injury.
My foot hurt again and was very sore, Nadal admitted. I am a player who has to deal with injuries, this is not new.
It’s hard on a daily basis and sometimes hard to accept. It’s frustrating when there are some days I can’t train properly.
The 35-year-old is pinned between the points-a grim picture as Roland-Garros approaches. Nadal missed a large part of 2021 because of this injury.
I don’t really know what could have happened (from here to the French Grand Slam stage)Said Nadal.
The Spanish and 4th in the world returned to ATP last week after a six-week absence, the result of a rib fracture. He started 2022 well, among other things with his 21st prestigious title, in Melbourne.
It’s really hard to see him hurt in the end, Shapovalov said. You don’t want to see that in a rival, let alone a great legend like “Rafa”. He brings so much to tennis. Hopefully he will be back in time for Roland-Garros.
Shapovalov also acquired Nadal in 2017, in Montreal.
In their last match, in Melbourne, at the start of 2022, Nadal won hard in five sets 6-3, 6-4, 4-6, 3-6 and 6-3.
On Thursday, the Maple Leaf rep had 13 aces, the last leading 5-2 in the third set.
Nadal started the next game with two unforced errors. He then got a point and then Shapovalov got a winning shot. The Spaniard added two points before making two more unforced errors to accept the game. The last point is a shot that is too long.
Shapovalov had a slim breaks advantage, 5-4.
The seeded No. 13, Shapovalov will have Casper Ruud, the fifth seed, as his next rival.
Félix Auger-Aliassime has an appointment with Novak Djokovic
Félix Auger-Aliassime advanced to the Italian Open quarter-finals with a 6-3, 6-2 win over American Marcos Giron in 1:28 in Rome on Thursday.
The eighth seed hit 11 aces and won 84% of rallies on his first serve.
He recorded 37 wins against only 3 unforced errors.
Auger-Aliassime, 9th in the ATP, will face No. 1 Novak Djokovic in the quarterfinals, who crushed Swiss Stan Wawrinka 6-2 and 6-2 in 75 minutes.
This will be the first confrontation between Serb and Quebecer.
For his part, Alexander Zverev reached the quarter-finals thanks to a win over Alex de Minaur.
The No. 3 in the world ranking won 6-3 and 7-6 (7/5), in 1 h 50 min, against the Australian, 22nd in the ATP.
This is his 100th victory in a Masters 1000 tournament.
On the contrary, the German won 76% of the rallies on his first serve.
I played better than my previous game, Zverev said. I stayed focused. Alex returned the ball very well, so losing his serve against him could happen. But I really need to be better at my serving throughout the game.
I still got some great wins against Alex, and I’m happy to have won both setsHe added.
Zverev will find Croatian Marin Cilic, 23rd in the world, or Chilean Cristian Garin, 45th in the quarterfinals.
Tsitsipas straightened up and passed
Stefanos Tsitsipas, 5th in the world, rotated to fix his game before dominating Russian Karen Khachanov (24th) 4-6, 6-0 and 6-3.
In the next round, 23-year-old Greek will face Jannik Sinner (13th).
Finalist of the French Open in 2021, winner of Monte-Carlo (Masters 1000), Tsitsipas has been on a great run on clay since the start of spring this season.
After his title in Monaco, he reached the quarters in Barcelona (defeated by Carlos Alcaraz), then the semi-finals in Madrid (defeated by Alexander Zverev).
The Greek player can once again hope to reach the semi-finals of the last major preparatory tournament for the French Open in Paris.
Another result of the day:
- Jannik Sinner (ITA/no. 10) defeated Filip Krajinovic (SRB) 6-2, 7-6 (8/6)
Source: Radio-Canada
