Italian Open LIVE: Nadal vs Shapovalov LIVE: Denis Shapovalov avenged his 2022 Australian Open defeat against Rafael Nadal. The Canadian defeated the third seed, Rafael Nadal, 1-6, 7-5, 6-2 in a gruelling 2 hours and 37 minutes encounter. Shapovalov will now face Norway’s Casper Ruud in the quarterfinals. Follow InsideSport.IN for more updates.
Italian Open LIVE: Denis Shapovalov clinches upset victory over Rafael Nadal in three sets to move into Italian Open quarterfinals
Nadal got off to a terrific start in his third-round contest against Denis Shapovalov as he won the first set 6-1. Both the players had already met earlier this year in the quarterfinals of the Australian Open with Nadal winning the contest in a five-set marathon.
After going down an instant break in the final set, Shapovalov won the final five games as Nadal struggled with an apparent foot injury, likely related to his chronic left-foot problem. The one-sided finish belied the hard-fought nature of the contest to that point, with the first two sets seeing a combined 17 break points.
The moment that Shapovalov shocked Rome 🤯@denis_shapo | @InteBNLdItalia | #IBI22 pic.twitter.com/kKmTvmIuBS
— ATP Tour (@atptour) May 12, 2022
Italian Open LIVE: Denis Shapovalov clinches upset victory over Rafael Nadal in three sets to move into Italian Open quarterfinals
“I am living with an injury. My day by day is difficult. I am trying hard but of course it’s difficult to accept the situation at times. A lot of days I can’t practise the proper way,” Nadal said post-match.
“Today it started half way through the second set and it was unplayable for me. I don’t want to take away credit from Denis that he deserves… Today is for him.”
A night that Shapovalov will never forget 🙌@denis_shapo | @InteBNLdItalia | #IBI22 pic.twitter.com/fYCQH0ChFY
— ATP Tour (@atptour) May 12, 2022
He later added: “I started playing the match much better… so I feel sad about that. A lot of positive things but when this happens the rest of the positive things disappear. It’s time to accept the situation and fight.”
Italian Open LIVE: Denis Shapovalov clinches upset victory over Rafael Nadal in three sets to move into Italian Open quarterfinals
Nadal indeed set the tone early in the match, bringing up three break points in his first return game before breaking twice later in the opening set. But despite the 6-1 scoreline, Shapovalov maintained his threat throughout the set and was rewarded early in the second.
He began to get the better of the punishing rallies that Nadal had edged in the opener and — after saving three break points in a seven-deuce opening service game — broke for 2-0 with more aggressive baseline play.
And then there were 🎱@InteBNLdItalia | #IBI22 pic.twitter.com/IpT4365kV4
— ATP Tour (@atptour) May 12, 2022
“I was just trying to change something,” Shapovalov said of that phase of the match. “He was completely outplaying me at the beginning of the match. Obviously the first set, the beginning of the second I was just hanging in there. Definitely really happy to turn it around.”
Italian Open LIVE: Denis Shapovalov clinches upset victory over Rafael Nadal in three sets to move into Italian Open quarterfinals
