Rafael Nadal is out of the Italian Open tournament against Denis Shapovalov. The Canadian won the second set 7-5 to force a decider that resulted against the 21-times Grand Slam champion.
Nadal was apparently in pain and seemed to be limping in the third set against Shapovalov. The player from Canada handed Nadal his earliest departure in Rome since 2008. The Spaniard, since that year had managed to reach at least the quarterfinals of the tournament.
Rafa has won three titles this season so far including one of his historical 21st Grand Slam in Australia. The player also had complained about his foot injury during the BNP Paribas Open where he was handed his first loss of the year at the hands of Taylor Fritz in the final.
Seeing Nadal struggling is a huge concern ahead of the Roland Garros torunanet while Novak Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz are already among the heavy favourites for the second Grand Slam event upcoming in France. While Alcaraz has already won four ATP titles so far, Djokovic is gaining his form back and has reached the quarterfinals of the Italian Open beating Stan Wawrinka today.