{"id":13485,"date":"2022-05-13T06:19:06","date_gmt":"2022-05-13T06:19:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/rafael-nadal-falls-apart-on-clay-just-in-time-for-the-french-open\/"},"modified":"2022-05-13T06:19:06","modified_gmt":"2022-05-13T06:19:06","slug":"rafael-nadal-falls-apart-on-clay-just-in-time-for-the-french-open","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/rafael-nadal-falls-apart-on-clay-just-in-time-for-the-french-open\/","title":{"rendered":"Rafael Nadal Falls Apart on Clay, Just in Time for the French Open"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
\n

ROME – Quick and dominant in the first set against Denis Shapovalov, Rafael Nadal was quite the opposite down the stretch at the Italian Open on Thursday night.<\/p>\n

Late to the ball. Limping between points. Grimacing and wincing even on changeovers. His distress was so visible as the double faults and unforced errors piled up late in the final set that even the Canadian fans sitting high in the center court stands were offering up sympathetic applause for Nadal as their compatriot Shapovalov put the final touches on his victory, 1-6, 7-5, 6-2, in the round of 16.<\/p>\n

Shapovalov, an elastic and explosive left-hander ranked No. 16, has the tools to trouble even a healthy Nadal. He beat him in their first match in 2017 when Shapovalov was still a teenager, and should have beaten him in last year’s round of 16 at the Italian Open when he failed to convert two match points. He also pushed Nadal to five sets at this year’s Australian Open.<\/p>\n

But this was far from a healthy Nadal, with his chronic left foot problem, known as M\u00fcller-Weiss disease, resurfacing on his favorite surface. With the French Open looming, his mood di lui in the aftermath was as downbeat and pensive as I can recall in nearly 20 years of following his career di lui.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n