Published on May 12, 2022 at 10:42 p.m. – updated on May 12, 2022 at 10:59 p.m.
Aurélie SACCHELLI
Defending champion Rafael Nadal lost in the round of 16 of the Masters 1000 in Rome in three sets against Denis Shapavalov. But in addition to having lost, the Spaniard especially seems to have hurt his foot again. There is concern ten days before the start of Roland-Garros.
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This is the worst news that could fall on the heads of Rafael Nadal and his fans. Ten days before the start of Roland-Garros, his favorite tournament, where he dreams of winning a 22nd Grand Slam to get ahead of Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer (20 each) in the “GOAT” race, the Spanish player is injured. Absent for six weeks due to a cracked rib, the world No. 4 returned last week to Madrid, where he was eliminated in the quarter-finals by eventual winner Carlos Alcaraz. In Rome, he had started perfectly by beating John Isner in two sets, before stifling Denis Shapovalov in the first round of his round of 16 this Thursday evening (6-1). But it would seem that the foot injury which had ruined the second part of his season last year (two games played after Roland-Garros), woke up. Nadal, who had played in the first set (70% of first serves, no break conceded), found himself trailing 3-0 at the start of the second, but he managed to come back to 4-4, before giving up his face-off at 6-5, Shapovalov pocketing the set on his second chance.
Nadal: “How will I be in a week? I do not know “
And even if he broke at the start of the third set, Nadal immediately lost his service. At 2-2, the Majorcan began to clearly drop in pace and experienced a big black hole, being broken white at 3-2, and leaving Shapovalov to score twelve points in a row to lead 5-2. The Spaniard was limping but didn’t want to give up, and the Canadian finished easily to give himself his second victory over “Rafa”, but he didn’t do much, knowing that his opponent was not more than a shadow of himself at the end of the game. Holder of the title in Rome, Nadal will be seeded n°5 at Roland-Garros in the draw next week. But will he be present in the painting? Impossible to say at the moment, of course. “I felt a lot of pain in my foot. I am not injured but it is not easy to live with this situation. It’s frustrating. Tonight in the middle of the second set I started to suffer. But I must say bravo Shapovalov. How will I be in a week? I don’t know,” Nadal said briefly after the game. The countdown has begun for “Monsieur Roland-Garros”…
Get well soon and hope to see you in Paris, @RafaelNadal 🧡#IBI22 pic.twitter.com/1eSNnrAwCU
— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) May 12, 2022
Ruud for Shapovalov
Author of average performances since the start of the European season on clay (round of 16 in Monte-Carlo, quarter in Barcelona, quarter in Munich, sixteenth in Madrid), Casper Ruud will be well in the quarters in Rome, after his 6-3, 6-4 victory in 1h36 over Jenson Brooksby. For his first match against the American, the world No. 10 did very well, notably serving five aces and saving the three break points that his opponent got. Two breaks at 3-2 in the first set and 1-1 in the second allowed him to win and afford a quarter against Shapovalov, whom he beat in their only meeting, in the final in Geneva last year.
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