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Italian Open: Rafael Nadal beats Denis Shapovalov to reach quarter-finals
Nine-time champion Rafael Nadal saved two match points to defeat Canada’s Denis Shapovalov in a three-set battle and advance to the quarter-finals of the Italian Open on Thursday. Second seed Nadal won through 3-6, 6-4, 7-6 (7/3) after nearly 3hr 30min on court against the 13th-seeded Shapovalov. “It was a really difficult match, the score was against me almost all the time, but I was there, I was fighting all the time, I didn’t give away anything,” said the 34-year-old. The Spaniard will be making his 16th last-eight appearance in Rome. It will also be his 97th ATP Masters 1000 quarter-final. Nadal trailed by 0-4 in the opening set, and 0-3 in the second. Shapovalov also broke for 3-1 in the third set but Nadal broke back immediately and held on despite two match points against him in the...
Rafael Nadal beats Stefanos Tsitsipas to win 12th Barcelona title
Rafael Nadal saved a championship point to beat Stefanos Tsitsipas 6-4, 6-7 (6/8), 7-5 on Sunday and claim a 12th Barcelona Open title in the ATP’s longest match of 2021. The Spaniard secured his first title of the year and 87th of his career, denying Tsitsipas back-to-back triumphs following his maiden Masters 1000 title at Monte Carlo last week. Nadal avenged his Australian Open quarter-final loss to Tsitsipas and will return to second in the ATP rankings on Monday by climbing back above Daniil Medvedev after his marathon 3-hour 38-minute win. “It means a lot for me to play the final here and win,” said Nadal. “I improved my level during the week and this trophy means a lot.” Nadal redeemed himself after a surprise quarter-final exit in Monte Carlo, but the three sets dropped en route to...
Roger Federer hints at withdrawal from French Open after Saturday’s hard won match
Former world one, Roger Federer, was made to go at great lengths to reach the last 16 of a Grand Slam for a record-extending 68th time by Germany’s world number 59 Dominik Koepfer in their battle, which the Swiss won 7-6 (7-5) 6-7 (3-7) 7-6 (7-4) 7-5 in a late-night slugfest at Roland Garros. Although the tennis icon was solid in his opening two matches, with encouraging victories over qualifier Denis Istomin and former US Open champion Marin Cilic, upon his return to Open action after two knee surgeries, he got a tough test of his mettle on Saturday. The 20-time Grand Slam champion knew it was not going to be plain sailing, as newsmen reported him as saying, and he found out just how in the night-session showdown with Germany’s Koepfer. It was tough enough to make Federer admit that, base...