Ailing Nadal falls in Italian Open third round to Shapovalov
Defending champion Rafael Nadal crashed out of the Italian
Open in the third round on Thursday with the record 10-time Rome winner
complaining of a recurring foot problem after a shock 1-6, 7-5, 6-2 defeat by
Canadian Denis Shapovalov.
Defeat in Rome for 'King of Clay' Nadal casts doubt over his
prospects at the upcoming French Open, where he has been crowned champion 13
times but faces a threat from teenage phenomenon Carlos Alcaraz.
The 35-year-old, who had reached at least the quarter-finals
every year in Rome since 2008, had been out for six weeks with a rib injury
before returning for last week's tournament in Madrid.
Nadal began limping in the third set, later telling
reporters that a foot problem had flared up during the second set but couldn't
say whether he would be able to take part at Roland Garros.
"I'm not injured, I am a player living with an injury.
That's it," Nadal told reporters.
"It's something that is there unfortunately and my day
by day is difficult. I am trying hard but of course it is difficult for me. A
lot of days I can't practice.
"I don't want to take anything away from Denis... today
is for him so well done to him."
Nadal has won an all-time record 21 Grand Slam titles in a
glittering two-decade career which may now finally be reaching its downturn.
World number 16 Shapovalov, who had pushed Nadal all the way
when knocked out at this stage of the tournament last year, will now face
Casper Ruud in the quarter-finals.
"It definitely sucked to see him in pain at the end...
He brings so much to our sport so hopefully he's fit and ready to go for the
French," said Shapovalov.
"It's super satisfying to beat the best player on clay
of all time."
Last year's Rome runner-up Novak Djokovic swept past Swiss
veteran Stan Wawrinka 6-2, 6-2 in one hour, 16 minutes to reach the
quarter-finals as he bids for a sixth Italian Open title.
Djokovic is in his record-extending 369th week as the world
number one and must reach at least the semis to avoid losing his top ranking
spot to Daniil Medvedev.
Wawrinka, whose first-round victory over Reilly Opelka was
his first win in 15 months, was no match for top seed Djokovic and beyond a few
classic passing shots he offered little resistance.
"It's great to see Stan back... You can see that
physically he's still not there where he wants to be but nevertheless he's Stan
Wawrinka. He can hurt you if you give time," Djokovic said after the
match.
World number three Alexander Zverev saw off Alex de Minaur
6-3, 7-6 (7/5) in the early match on centre court to set up a last-eight clash
with Cristian Garin, who beat Marin Cilic 6-3, 4-6, 6-4.
Monte Carlo Masters champion Stefanos Tsitsipas was forced
to work harder for his 4-6, 6-0, 6-3 win over former Paris Masters winner Karen
Khachanov which sets him up with home hope Jannick Sinner.
Women's world number one Iga Swiatek claimed her 25th
straight victory, defeating Victoria Azarenka 6-4, 6-1 despite a rocky start.
Swiatek, 20, is the favourite for the French Open which
starts later this month and showed why in an impressive performance against
Azarenka, herself a former top-ranked player and the two-time Australian Open
winner.
However she had to come back from losing the first three
games of the match and then battled through a series of long games before
finally breaking Azarenka's resolve early in the decisive second set.
"I'm happy that I could kind of win ugly in the first
set, then improve in the second," Swiatek told reporters.
"It gives me confidence that even when my game is not
hundred percent good, I can still win matches. So it works both ways."
Swiatek will be expected to beat her quarter-final opponent
Bianca Andreescu after the world number 90 came through against Petra Martic
6-4, 6-4.
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