Rafael Nadal left the Masters 1000 in Rome on Thursday, much earlier than he had hoped, and his defeat in three sets (1-6, 7-5, 6-2) in 2h37 against Denis Shapovalov also seemed to cost him physically. Grinning in pain, limping because of his famous left foot (Muller-Weiss syndrome), the Spaniard had to let the third set slip away, with, as a sign of capitulation, two games left blank for the Canadian at 2-2 then 4-2. Worrying ten days before the first round of Roland-Garros (May 22-June 5).
The defending champion had however started well, at the start of the evening, by dispatching the first act 6-1 in 43 minutes, against an opponent whom he found for the first time since their long undecided quarter-final of the last Australian Open. , won in five sets by Nadal earlier this year.
The duel was balanced at the start of the second set, when, seeing the record holder for Grand Slam victories scratch his left elbow in the rose bushes that frame the central court of Foro Italico, Shapovalov understood that he could be him -even a thorn in the side of his opponent.
Shapovalov beats Nadal for the second time in his career
Until this break point against him, strangely saved, and a service game preserved after more than ten minutes of battle, it was the Canadian who gave the Spaniard flowers, trying to shorten the exchanges of blows too risky. The 16th in the world then tightened the game more, relying on an excellent first ball which often took the Mallorcan out of the court, when the latter, less regular, finally left openings.
It was one of Nadal’s slowdowns that allowed his opponent to conclude the second set (7-5): trailing 5-6, the Spaniard completely missed his service game, with in particular two doubles fouls, and the Canadian therefore came back up to par.
The start of the third set promised the same type of showdown, with an entry break for Nadal, which was immediately answered by a break from the No. 13 seed, carried by three forehand winners full of confidence. From there, Nadal grimaced, dragged his foot. To end up knocked out. Shapovalov, who thus beat the Spaniard for the second time in his career, after a hard success in 2017 (in Montreal), will meet the Norwegian Casper Ruud in the quarter-finals on Friday.
