A dry and painful defeat. Against Hubert Hurkacz, in the second round of the Masters 1000 in Rome, Rafael Nadal was never able to compete this Saturday afternoon. The Spaniard lost in two sets (6-1, 6-3), completed in 1 hour and 33 minutes by his Polish opponent.
In the first round of the competition, Rafael Nadal had already experienced many difficulties in getting rid of the Belgian Zizou Bergs. It took him almost three hours to get through it, in three sets (4-6, 6-3, 6-4). Faced with Hubert Hurkacz, this time he was never able to compete, overwhelmed by the accuracy and seriousness of his opponent.
Rafael Nadal had however shown progress in recent weeks, notably during the Masters 1000 in Madrid. In the Spanish capital, he reached the round of 16, including a victory against Alex De Minaur. The Czech Jiri Lehecka, 31st player in the world, finally ended his career.
This Sunday in Rome, Hubert Hurkacz will face the Argentine player Tomás Martín Etcheverry in the round of 16. Novak Djokovic is also still in the picture. He will challenge the Chilean Alejandro Tabilo, also this Sunday.
The Serbian, however, experienced a mishap this Friday, since he received a bottle from the stands on the head, after his victory against the French Corentin Moutet. The world number one collapsed in pain after the shock, before reassuring himself about his condition.
