Rafael Nadal lost to Denis Shapovalov at the Internazionali BNL d’Italia on Thursday, but the result is really the least of his worries.
Nadal started strong and looked well on his way to a quarterfinal berth after issuing a breadstick in the first set, but his recurring foot issues became a problem and he stumbled to a 1-6, 7-5, 6-2 loss. Shapovalov took down the Spaniard for the second time (previously Montreal 2017) after two hours and 37 minutes.
“I was just trying to change something,” Shapovalov said of breaking serve right away in set two following his rough opening frame of play. “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.
“Obviously I’m a huge fan of his growing up. I watched him play so many times. Growing up, I wanted to play and behave like him. So I definitely super look up to him and hopefully he’s fit for [the French Open].”
With the French Open less than two weeks away, Nadal does not have much recovery time prior to his bid for a 14th trophy at Roland Garros and a 22nd Grand Slam title overall.
“I am living with an injury,” said the 35-year-old, whose foot has been a problem dating back to last year’s quarterfinal loss to Novak Djokovic on the red clay of Paris. “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 practice the proper way.
“Today it started halfway through the second set and it was unplayable for me. I don’t want to take away (the) credit from Denis that he deserves…. Today is for him.
“I started playing the match much better…so I feel sad [that it got worse]. (There were) 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.”
Despite his ongoing physical issues, Nadal battled to the Australian Open title at the beginning of this season–which completed the double-career Grand Slam. The world No. 4 won his first 20 matches in 2022 before a rib injury contributed to an Indian Wells final loss to Taylor Fritz. Nadal missed the next two months before returning last week in Madrid, where he succumbed to new sensation Carlos Alcaraz in the quarterfinals.
Shapovalov advances to face Casper Ruud on Friday in Rome. Djokovic remains a a potential semifinal opponent after the top-ranked Serb eased past Stan Wawrinka 6-2, 6-2.
Novak wins Rome.. rafa out with wobbly foot…who can now stop Novak from winning both rg n wimby to make it 22
Rafa is now covered if he loses at RG – if he wins, it will be even greater a comeback that the AO.
Im not sure we csan give Fed the same excemption – old age isnt quite the same excuse as just being injured
I’m just feeling horrible given that rafa got injured during clay missed half of it n now is not in form n injured to even be in proper contention for French..
I don’t think rafans will ever enjoy a smooth consistent ride in a year with him ..it’s always start n stop…please Almighty .one or 2 slams more somehow …n total 100 titles..
Thats the point about his discussion which is about how Rafa has lost or not been able to play through injury – playing such a physical game , its the downside esp as he gets older. If you look back through his H2H with other top players, how many of his losses will be due to injury perceived or real , or not enough match practise due to said injury.
I dont begrudge him his right to get injured and take time off but it takes away from the the achievements of others- esp when injury during clay season/tiredness late season/sore knees during grass season due to long clay season – etc – are factored in. He a part time player,lets face it.
Part timer and achieved what he has achieved, not bad!
Why do you have to bother with how he loses his matches? Come on, his results on clay are there for anyone to see, so you think he couldn’t afford to lose a few matches, especially now that he has grown older?
Some Djoko fans boast about Djoko beating Rafa on clay, but how often Djoko does that? If you ask me, 2011 was one of Djoko’s two greatest seasons and so he was able to beat Rafa on clay in two Masters finals fair and square.
But, how often could Djoko do that? 8 out of 28 encounters, so isn’t that obvious who’s better on clay? At the FO, Rafa is 7-2 Vs Djoko, even if you disregard 2006-2008 FO (some argued that at those time, Djoko had not reached his peak), Rafa is still 4-2 Vs Djoko, not forgetting Rafa had beaten Djoko at the FO in three consecutive years from 2012 to 2014 when Djoko was world no 1. It’s in 2015, Djoko’s another great season that he beat Rafa twice again on clay, including his first ever win over Rafa at the FO.
We can argue all we want, it won’t change the fact that top form Rafa on clay > top form Djoko on clay, and in 2021 we certainly didn’t see a top form Rafa whilst Djoko was in much better form (that’s why he had won three out of four slams).
As to why Rafa wasn’t in top form in 2021, well, that’s because of the stop and start of the tennis season due to COVID 19, and his body especially his troublesome foot suffered because of that. Age is also catching up with Rafa and it affects him more than players like Djoko who’s body isn’t as injury prone as Rafa’s.
PS. 1) We often heard of Rafa being injury prone because of his game style, but player like Delpo for example who played much fewer matches than Rafa was even worse hit by injuries that he had to retire before Rafa.
Rafa has his foot issue, if not for that, I’m sure Rafa is able to sustain his game style with much fewer injury break (most of his injuries are related to his legs -knee, foot).
2) I remember when Rafa beat Djoko at the USO in 2013, some Djoko fans claimed that Djoko wasn’t at his best that year, so it’s possible that when you’re not at your best, one of your closest rivals could beat you; isn’t it the same with Rafa at the FO?
2) I remember when Rafa beat Djoko at the USO in 2013, some Djoko fans claimed that Djoko wasn’t at his best that year, so it’s possible that when you’re not at your best, one of your closest rivals could beat you; isn’t it the same with Rafa at the FO?
Thats the whole point , I want to see genuine rivalries where theres an up and down aspect with all players having a chance of winning- but never on the back of an injury .
You are so determined to argue every single point agaisnt Rafa just like the man himself would on the court (phyiscal and mental problems apart) I leave you to that and move on
What did you think of the final today?
I happen to have time on hand so I am happy to ‘argue’ with whoever, because some of the posters here are so biased in their views about Rafa. Perhaps they are here just to irritate the Rafa fans!
What I think about the final, well Tsitsipas (and Zverev) never fail to disappoint. Both Tsitsipas and Zverev are top five players but the way they played in a Master’s final Vs a fellow top 5 or top 10 player, it’s disappointing to say the least.
I don’t expect them to win but at least put up a good fight! Tsitsipas was so error prone, and when he was leading in set two, he just couldn’t maintain the lead to take the set. All he had to do was to serve well, clutch serving to hold serve and the set would be his.
Djoko was playing well but not very well, he was just able to maintain a steady level and when need be, raise his level and capitalise on Tsitsipas’ errors.
Based on what I’ve seen so far about these top players on clay, I’ll rule out both Tsitsipas and Zverev winning the FO. I’ll put Djoko and Alcaraz up there for winning it.
Thanks for that I d agree about the fav for RG but theres so much competition out there that could change .
Wish I had more time on my hands to ‘argue’ -I work for a living- bear in mind I just try to give another view than the 99.9% pro Rafa stuff on this otherwise fine forum .
I’m not talking about you being biased, I’m talking about those trolls who use the regular posters names and post anti Rafa stuff just to irritate the Rafa fans here.
They even attack Ricky and Cheryl here. I hope Ricky or whoever in charge do something to stop these trolls.
Do you think, hypothetically, if Novak wins sufficient number of grand slams, and other titles/breaks records, enough to clearly separate his career achievement from the other two members of Big 3, would you say then that he is clearly the greatest player of all time, or would you still have some other reservations, how “numbers do not tell the whole story”?
Thank you in advance for this mental excercise and your feedback, since you already happen to have time on hand…
Since you ask me, thinking that I’ve all the time in the world, but in fact I don’t (that only happened yesterday and not everyday of course!), I’ll say that I don’t believe in greatest of all time.
We can’t compare eras, but the big three play in the same era (from mid 2000 till mid 2020 maybe), so whoever achieves more than the other two, this guy will rank higher than the other two of course. Whatever criteria is not set by me, and everyone may have his or her own gauging system, so it’s up to each individual to gauge for himself/herself.
I’ll leave you at that, it’s not as if what I think matters, in the grand scheme of things.
Appreciate that. I don’t have a big favourite player but like some more than others – there are some who just come on here to spew hatred
That poster we had on here the other day talking about the YEC didn’t sound like a troll…
I think you are referring me, I rarely comment but I like reading others. In general when I find someone who in general give a balanced opinion then sometimes I reply putting my perspective.
I find Luckystar though being fan of Rafa still her views are not biased so I like reading and thought of replying.
Yes. Its that balance thats missing on here as 99.9 % of the support is for one player . Im not a fan , but enjoy discussing when other posters like Luckystar can give reasons for their opinions. In fact I dont really have a particular favourite player anymore I just enjoy trying to predict matches.
Thank you Best Player. There are many trolls around here, some pretending to be the usual posters here by using their names to post, but they are trolls, attacking people here.
In yes this is the problem. Curses! It’s 99.9 % of the support for Rafa you go on other sites ant it’s the same for Fed and Novak. But it is hard if you dislike Rafa. That I get. And that is what is going on.
We have some great discussions here. Involving the top three and the young guys. I enjoy talking with Lucky because she makes her arguments with facts. She isn’t just a fan girl for Rafa. She can provide stats and detail. She also has a lot of patience. I think that the regulars here have a really strong knowledge of tennis and love the sport.
That is why it is such a shame that trolls come here pretending to be the regular posters. It really creates a toxic environment. I just think it’s quite sad that they have nothing ejse to do with their lives,
The 99.9 % by the way , doesnt just mean out of the total population here are Rafa fans, its more that quite a few of them are 99.9 % obsessed for him and often disappear altogether when he out of action. Most of the regulars arent like that Im glad to say. We need to keep it fair and give all players credit when they do well.
And that especially goes for the trolls
Hope you are not counting me in that category , Big AI? 😉
For me it’s often quite difficult to take the time to write regularly and I think Rafa playing the important matches gives me just about the right amount of incentive to come here and discuss with the community here.
Not great to see this level of trolling going on these days.
You too knowledgeable and nice to fit into that category
VR,
No it’s me who is bitchy and a hypocrite. At least according to Al. So it’s not directed at you.
The level of trolling on the site has become quite toxic. The idea that trolls would now post comments pretending to be some of the regulars here, is appalling.
Ricky needs to do something about it.
😆 I can forgive people being a ‘bit bitchy’ when their favourite player loses…
Wont give any too specific examples …
Now after a long days work Im off to watch some tennis