Nadal is currently just a shadow of the player who won 22 Grand Slams in his illustrious career, and who also holds the record for 10 titles in Rome, most recently in 2021. Nevertheless, the Spaniard is racing against time to find his best form in order to participate in Roland Garros for the last time at the end of May.
After missing almost the entire last season and the first three months of this year due to injury, Nadal officially returned at the Barcelona Open, where he played two matches before being eliminated. Following that, Nadal participated in the Madrid Open and was eliminated after four matches. The Rome Masters will be Nadal's third clay-court tournament of the season, where he is competing to regain his peak form.
Nadal had a difficult start at the Rome Masters (Photo: FS).
Since the start of the 2005 season, Nadal has lost only once in 163 matches against players outside the top 50 on clay courts. He continued this record when he faced world number 108 Zizou Bergs in the first round of the Rome Masters.
Nadal got off to a good start, and after two good service games, he broke Bergs' serve in game 4 to take a 3-2 lead. However, the Spaniard couldn't hold onto his advantage as Bergs broke back in the very next game. Nadal made a mistake in game 9, and Bergs seized the opportunity to break serve and create a turning point to win 6-4.
In Set 2, Nadal quickly gained an advantage, leading 3-0. Although Bergs had two opportunities to break serve, Nadal didn't give his opponent a chance to fight back. Successfully holding all of his service games, Nadal won 6-3 and pushed the match into a deciding set.
Nadal held the advantage before breaking serve in game 3 to take a 2-1 lead. The Spaniard then demonstrated the qualities of a true star by saving a triple break-point in game 6 and going on to win 6-4, thus advancing to the second round.
Nadal's next challenge will be world number 9 Hubert Hurkacz. In this year's tournament, Nadal is in a rather difficult draw, as it also includes defending champion Daniil Medvedev and runner-up Holger Rune.
Source: https://dantri.com.vn/the-thao/nadal-loi-nguoc-dong-thanh-cong-o-tran-mo-man-rome-masters-20240509235635024.htm
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