[ad_1]
Spain’s Rafael Nadal returns the ball to Argentina’s Diego Schwartzman during their quarterfinals at the Italian Open tennis tournament in Rome on Saturday, September 19, 2020 (Alfredo Falcone / LaPresse via AP).
ROME – Rafael Nadal’s first tournament in seven months ended in a 6-2, 7-5 loss to Diego Schwartzman in the quarterfinals of the Italian Open on Saturday.
Nadal, a nine-time champion in Rome, had never lost to 15th-ranked Schwartzman in nine previous games.
But Schwartzman dictated the baseline plays and produced a series of winners as Nadal made unusual unforced errors and struggled to get his first serve on the line.
Nadal, who decided not to play the US Open due to travel concerns amid the coronavirus pandemic, had not played a tournament since winning a title in Acapulco, Mexico, in February. He now has a week to regroup before attempting to win a record-setting 13th French Open title.
Roland Garros starts next weekend.
Previously, Novak Djokovic lost his cool again midway through a 6-3, 4-6, 6-3 win over German qualifier Dominik Koepfer, less than two weeks after being sent off from the US Open.
When Djokovic broke in love to equalize the second set at 3-3, he slammed his racket against the red clay in anger.
Serbian Novak Djokovic checks his broken racket during his match with German Dominik Koepfer during his quarterfinals at the Italian Open tennis tournament in Rome on Saturday, September 19, 2020 (Alfredo Falcone / LaPresse via AP).
With the frame broken and the strings shattered, Djokovic was forced to buy a new racket and received a warning from the chair umpire.
“It is not the first or the last racket I will break in my career,” said Djokovic. “I’ve done it before and will probably do it again. I don’t want to do it, but when it comes, it happens.
“This is how, I guess, sometimes I release my anger and it’s definitely not the best message out there, especially to young tennis players looking at me, and I definitely don’t encourage it.”
Top-ranked Djokovic was expelled from the US Open for inadvertently hitting a linesman in the throat with a ball in a fit of rage.
At the Foro Italico, Djokovic already seemed frustrated during the game before breaking his racket, glaring at the referee after a couple of cancellations and a point that was ordered to be replayed.
“That’s me,” Djokovic said. “Of course I’m not perfect and I’m trying my best.”
Koepfer, 97th ranked, who screamed in frustration throughout the match, was also warned for misconduct early in the third set.
Aiming for his fifth title in Rome, Djokovic’s semi-final opponent will be Casper Ruud, who eliminated local favorite Matteo Berrettini 4-6, 6-3, 7-6 (5) in a match that lasted 2 hours, 57 minutes.
Schwartzman will face Denis Shapovalov, who beat Grigor Dimitrov 6-2, 3-6, 6-2.
While fans have yet to be admitted to the tournament, Italy’s Sports Minister said on Friday that 1,000 spectators will be allowed for the semifinals and finals.
In the women’s tournament, top seed Simona Halep reached the quarterfinals when Kazakh opponent Yulia Putintseva withdrew midway through her match due to a lower back injury.
Halep was leading 6-2, 2-0 when Putintseva decided she was in too much pain to continue as she had taken time off the court between sets.
Simona Halep returns the ball to Yulia Putintseva during their quarter-final match at the Italian Open tennis tournament in Rome on Saturday, September 19, 2020 (Alfredo Falcone / LaPresse via AP).
Halep, who lost two consecutive finals in Rome to Elina Svitolina in 2017 and 2018, must defeat two-time Grand Slam winner Garbiñe Muguruza to return to the championship match.
Muguruza needed more than two hours to eliminate Victoria Azarenka, runner-up at the US Open, 3-6, 6-3, 6-4.
The other semi-final will feature last year’s French Open runner-up Marketa Vondrousova against her Czech partner and defending champion Karolina Pliskova.
Vondrousova defeated Svitolina 6-3, 6-0 and Pliskova defeated Elise Mertens 6-3, 3-6, 6-0.
gsg
Read next
EDITOR’S SELECTION
MOST READ
Subscribe to INQUIRER PLUS to get access to The Philippine Daily Inquirer and more than 70 other titles, share up to 5 gadgets, listen to the news, download from 4am and share articles on social media. Call 896 6000.
[ad_2]
