Nadal in Rome (Photo: Andreas SOLARO / AFP) Written by Lance!• Published on 05/09/2024 – 16:43 • Rome (Italy)
Counting on broad support from the fans, Rafael Nadal debuted with a turning victory in the race, this Thursday (9), at the Masters 1000 in Rome, Italy, a tournament where he is the biggest champion with ten titles and is saying goodbye.
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Nadal needed 2h53 to close the score in 4/6 6/3 6/4 against the Belgian Zizou Bergs and coming from quali, and scored his 70th victory in the competition which is where he has had his greatest successes on the circuit.
➡️ Thiago Wild dispatches Frenchman and challenges top-30 Argentine in Rome
Rafael Nadal came out with a 3/1 break in the 4th game, but he didn’t maintain it in the sequence and saw the Belgian grow, make good plays, lift the crowd and win a break in the 9th game, serving solidly to close the first set. Experienced, the Spaniard came in looking to put his rival on even more of a run in the second set, he worked well with his forehand and achieved the break in the 2nd game, made it 3/0 on the scoreboard and closed after saving break-point, raising the crowd on the central court.
In the decisive set, the native of Manacor maintained the tactic of lowering his rival’s morale, achieved a break in the 3rd game, opened 3/1 and managed, despite being under pressure, came out of a 0-40 in the 6th game and closed 6/ 4.
Nadal is looking to return to the third round in Rome for the first time since 2021, when he won his last title in the competition by beating Serbian Novak Djokovic in the grand final. The following year, 2022, Nadal did not make it past the second round and in 2023 he did not compete in the tournament as he was preparing to undergo hip surgery.
(Photo: Andreas SOLARO / AFP)
In search of this place in the third round, Nadal faces the Polish Hubert Hurkacz, whom he has never faced on the professional circuit.
Owner of 10 titles in Rome, 2021, 2019, 2018, 2013, 2012, 2010, 2009, 2007, 2006 and 2005, Rafael is the tournament’s biggest winner. If he wins the next phase he can face Brazilian Thiago Wild, who will face Argentine Tomas Etcheverry.
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