ATP Masters Rome: Rafael Nadal sensationally defeats Diego Schwartzman
Surprise in the last quarter-finals at the ATP Masters 1000 tournament in Rome: Diego Schwartzman defeated defending champion Rafael Nadal 6: 2 and 7: 5 and meets Denis Shapovalov on Sunday.
by tennisnet.com
last edit: Sep 19, 2020, 11:47 pm
Rafael Nadal did not defend his title in Rome: The 2019 winner struggled against Diego Schwartman from the start, eventually losing 2: 6 and 5: 7. Schwartzman showed himself to be much better than his performances in Kitzbühel right from the start and won the first act without any major problems.
In the second set it was Schwartzman again who made the first break - to 4: 3. Nadal hit back immediately, taking his opponent's serve for the first time. But Schwartzman was not irritated by this, got the next break. And that to zero. Of course, a Rafael Nadal doesn't leave the court that easy: With a terrific forehand half volley, the 19-time major champion got three chances to equalize again. And used the first one straight away. All the more astonishing that Diego Schwartzman took the lead again with a break.
After 2:02 hours, the Argentine had his first match point, Nadal let a forehand run sideways. And Schwartzman acted offensively - and won his first win ever against the Mallorcan in the tenth match against Rafael Nadal. It was crazy, explained Schwartzman on the court. In the last three weeks he had played really bad tennis and thought about gaining some match practice in Hamburg. And now he would have defeated Rafael Nadal for the first time. Unfortunately without a spectator. Incidentally, they are only allowed in a limited number on Sunday.
Denis Shapovalov is waiting for the semi-finals on Saturday (not before 7 p.m., live on Sky). The Canadian also won his fifth quarter-finals in an ATP Masters 1000 tournament, defeating Grigor Dimitrov in three sets. Novak Djokovic and the young Norwegian Casper Ruud play for second place in the final.