Rafael Nadal

Rafael Nadal gets back to winning on a clay court with a 6-3, 6-1 victory over John Isner at the Italian Open, after losing to Carlos Alcaraz in the Madrid ...

Nadal then held at love to close out the first set and broke Isner's serve in the opening game of the second. "He had some chances on the returns. When the match finished, Nadal headed straight to the practice court to hit more balls. Nadal was coming off a loss to 19-year-old Carlos Alcaraz in the Madrid Open quarterfinals last week. "I know how dangerous he is. "The match today was not that demanding physically.''

RAFAEL NADAL will face Denis Shapovalov in the third round of the Italian Open for a second successive year.

Nadal is playing just the second tournament of his injury comeback after he was sidelined by a rib fracture picked up in Indian Wells, and the third seed was relishing the chance to test himself against Shapovalov with the French Open looming. "Well I finished better than what I started without a doubt," he said. Rafael Nadal has admitted he was "super lucky" to save two match points and defeat Denis Shapovalov during last year's Italian Open as he set up a rematch with the world No 16.

Rafael Nadal continued his recovery from a fractured rib with victory against John Isner in the Italian Open.

I need to recover things that I missed because of the injury, of course,” he said of his additional session. He at least had time to train and build up his confidence in the off-season, whereas this time he says he rushed back to the court as soon it was physically safe to do so. Finding his feel and confidence will take time, yet the French Open begins a week on Sunday. Nadal was cagey on both, just hoping for Isner to miss, and he was fortunate the American obliged with two poor, unforced errors. Having been satisfied in Madrid last week even after his quarter-final defeat to Alcaraz, Nadal believes he has started from scratch. Just one substandard game puts anyone in trouble against Isner but Nadal took strength from his subsequent recovery and he immediately broke serve himself.

RAFAEL NADAL bounced back from his loss to Carlos Alcaraz and got off to a winning start in Rome.

And the 10-time champion continued his run of games as he broke Isner in the final game to take the match 6-3 6-1 in just an hour and 16 minutes. Nadal closed out a 6-3 set and carried his momentum into the second set, immediately breaking the Isner serve in the first game. Nadal came into Rome off the back of a three-set defeat to Carlos Alcaraz in Madrid last week.

Rafael Nadal is through to the third round of the Italian Open after beating John Isner 6-3 6-1.

Nadal had only hit one unforced error in the second set before going a double break up to make it 4-1 when Isner fired another forehand into the net. The match I saved against him I was super lucky. On his match against Shapovalov, he said: "Last year [in Rome] was a joke.

Rafael Nadal eased into the last 16 of the Italian Open with a straightforward win over John Isner, while Alexander Zverev beat Sebastian Baez.

Earlier, Zverev got through with a straight-sets 7-6 (8/6), 6-3 win over Baez in just over an hour and a half. Beginning his 800th week in the top 5 with a win ??— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) @RafaelNadalsees off Isner 6-3 6-1 to advance into the last 16 in Rome! #IBI22 pic.twitter.com/ZbxqVIk6Dc May 11, 2022 From there Nadal cruised to victory, dropping just 14 points on his way to setting up a third round clash with Denis Shapovalov.

Rafael Nadal eased into the last 16 of the Italian Open on Wednesday while Iga Swiatek is on course for a fifth straight WTA title after beating ...

However Bulgarian Dimitrov, beaten by world number five Tsitsipas in both Barcelona and Madrid in recent weeks, fought back from 5-3 down in the second set to level the match and looked to have the better of his Greek opponent in set three. "I need to play better than I did today but after a while out it's another victory and tomorrow another chance to play against one of the best players in the world," Nadal added. A quarter-final loser to fellow countryman Carlos Alcaraz in Madrid, Nadal could profit from the in-form teenager's absence in the Italian capital to win the last big clay event before the French Open later this month.

Rafael Nadal and John Isner are playing their ninth encounter at the Rome Masters, with the Spaniard seeking the eighth victory over the American.

Isner had a slim 49-46 advantage in the shortest points up to four strokes, mainly thanks to those service winners. In addition, Isner had 11 forced errors while Nadal stayed on two, which illustrates how well the Spaniard played from the baseline. Isner tried to shorten the points, and the risky game drew mistakes.

Former six-time Grand Slam champion Rennae Stubbs thoroughly enjoyed watching Carlos Alcaraz take on Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic as she says the ...

What happened in the last two months, yes, but in the other hand I have probably the best start of a season in my tennis career at my age." He then clinched a record 21st Grand Slam title at the 2022 Australian Open. "You need to build again the confidence in your body, on your movements, then you going to start feeling again comfortable with your tennis, no? Djokovic and Alcaraz played a brilliant match and the duel ended after three hours and 35 minutes of play.

Rafael Nadal has insisted that it will be 'good news' if he faces Novak Djokovic at the Rome Masters as it would prove he has been in good form.

We have to stay in touch with Wimbledon and protect all ATP and WTA players and play for the benefit of all players,” Nadal said. We work to defend all the players. I am more focused on my daily improvement rather than the rivals, thinking about what I have to do to improve, although the most important thing is to feel that I am in an ascending line.” “I am in Rome, Wimbledon is several weeks away. The 21-times Grand Slam champion is managing his fitness ahead of the French Open - a tournament he has won 13 times. Rafael Nadal has insisted that it will be ‘good news’ if he faces Novak Djokovic at the Rome Masters as it would prove he has been in good form.

Defending champion Rafael Nadal began his Italian Open campaign with an emphatic 6-3 6-1 victory over big-serving American John Isner to move into the last ...

But it's another victory and now tomorrow again a chance to play against one of the best players of the world." I was in his hands at that moment," Nadal said in a post-match interview. Nadal will play Denis Shapovalov in the next round, against whom he saved two match points in the third round last year en route to his 10th title.

Rafa Nadal refused to be drawn on whether he would support Wimbledon being stripped of its ranking points as a row over its decision to ban Russian and ...

When things like this happen, nothing will be perfect because we have to know that not for everybody it will be perfect. The rest of the things I am not able to talk about." "At the end that's our job, to protect the players and to work in the benefit of every single player that we are representing.

Politicians blast Nadal and Roger Federer, saying: 'They should come clean. Do they want Vladimir Putin to fail or don't they care?”

But in an interview with the Evening Standard conducted before news of the player council’s position emerged, sports minister Nigel Huddleston said: “We completely supported the decision that Wimbledon made. Neither of those have followed the LTA in imposing bans, People understand exactly why they’ve done that.” But he added: “[The] only thing we can do is be in touch with Wimbledon and the rest of the ATP management to do the things that work better to protect every single player in the ATP. “This feels like penalising the many for the sake of the few, just to make a point,” said the source, who warned the All England Club had no intention of lifting the ban. A source with knowledge of the player council’s position said it had been made with the “integrity of the rankings” in mind but was unable to explain how stripping Wimbledon and the UK’s other grass court tournaments of ranking points better achieved that than a freeze.