On paper, Rafael Nadal did not have overly tough first-round opponent at the French Open. But “lucky loser” certainly does not mean “free pass” at Roland Garros.
Eight lucky losers got into the main draw and four advanced. None was more impressive (even though Marco Trungelliti certainly made more headlines) than Simone Bolelli, and Bolelli didn’t even win. Playing like he had a second lease on life, because he did, the veteran from Italy went for broke at every opportunity and quite often connected. He threw everything he had at Nadal throughout two hours and 57 minutes of play across two days, eventually succumbing 6-4, 6-3, 7-6(9).
Rain delayed the contest on Monday evening with Bolelli 3-0 in the third set, after which Nadal erased the deficit to force a tiebreaker. The 10-time French Open also recovered from a 6-3 deficit in the ‘breaker, saving four set points in total before Bolelli fought off two match points. Finally, the world No. 129 netted a forehand at 8-9.
Highlights:
“He was a very aggressive player, and he was playing very strong,” Nadal said of Bolelli. “I didn’t know that he was going to play so aggressively. I understood that I really had to attack, and I had to have the proper mindset, be positive, and accept how things were unfolding. He was playing very well.
“There were few transition shots where I could manage to pick up my pace. I managed to do it, and that was the important thing today. He played well, playing with lot of risk–but having success with all of the risk that he took. For me, it was difficult to find 100 per cent, the rhythm, because I didn’t have so many points that I could take the advantage and hit three (or) four balls with the right position.”
Next up for the world No. 1 is Guido Pella, a straight-set winner over Joao Sousa.
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