Tennis
Rafael Nadal Eliminated From 2022 Italian Open in the Third Round
by privatebet.com - 2022/05/13
Rafael Nadal came into this year’s Italian Open as a defending champion and one of the favorites to win the title, but it wasn’t meant to be. He failed to make it to the quarterfinals after being eliminated by Denis Shapovalov in the third round. The Spaniard easily won the first set 1-6, but his performance came crashing down in the next two. After two hours and 37 minutes, he lost 1-6 7-5 6-2 to Shapovalov, as his time in Rome was cut short due to a foot injury that’s been giving him trouble for quite some time. This defeat casts a shadow over Nadal’s comeback at the upcoming French Open, a tournament he has won record 13 times, but he’s still planning to make it to Paris. "I'm not injured, I'm a player who lives with this injury. There's nothing new… I have to accept the situation and fight. I can't say anything more. I don't know if I should rest or train, but I still have a goal in a week and a few days. I will dream of this goal,” said Nadal after losing to Shapovalov. Despite being “the king of clay”, Nadal has been struggling since the beginning of the clay-court season and his defeat in Rome comes shortly after he lost to Carlos Alcaraz in the quarterfinals at the Madrid Open.