Denis Shapovalov booked his spot in the quarterfinals of the Italian Open after beating the world number four Rafael Nadal in three tight sets 1-6, 7-5, 6-2 in two hours and 36 minutes on Pista Centrale.

The Canadian fired 35 winners and served 13 aces while the Spaniard hit 34 unforced errors in a match that went back and forth.

“It’s definitely incredible to me to beat him. Having match points against him last year was kind of a hurtful feeling,” said Shapovalov who lost to the Spaniard at the same tournament 12 months ago. “Coming back here this year, I definitely remember that match. Obviously great tennis, but that one really hurt. Happy to get the win this time around”.

It was the Spaniard with the better start to the match, putting pressure right away on the world number 16 in the second game of the match and it took Shapovalov almost 10 minutes to save three breakpoints and hold serve.

At 2-1 Nadal kept pushing and struck setting up two breakpoints with his ferocious forehand and then broke the Toronto native with a solid backhand down the line winner.

After consolidating the break the world number four was hungry for more and again with his powerful forehand set up more break opportunities and broke again to take a 5-1 lead and served out the first set.

Shapovalov once again faced three breakpoints in the opening game of the second set but managed to save all of them and was able to hold serve. In the following game he broke Nadal to love for the early 2-0 lead.

He was able to consolidate the break but at 4-3 the Spaniard fought back and managed to break back to go back on serve. However, the Canadian at 6-5 was able to get the crucial break to take the second set and send the match to a third.

Nadal responded right away breaking the Canadian in the first game of the third set but the following game Shapovalov set up three breakpoints with a perfectly timed forehand winner.

He broke back the following point and at 3-2 Nadal struggled with his serve and double faulted to give the world number 16 a 4-2 lead as it seemed he was struggling with an injury.

After running down a ball he was seen hunched over at the towel box and was almost limping after points and wincing before serving or returning serve.

At 5-2 with the Spaniard serving to stay in the match and in pain, Shapovalov had three chances to seal the win and it was third time lucky as Nadal last shot went out.

I was trying to change something, he was completely outplaying me and I was hanging in there and I was really happy to turn it around,” said Shapovalov.

Shapovalov will next face Casper Ruud in the quarterfinals on Friday. In their last meeting the Norweigan was able to come out with the win when they played in the Geneva Open final last summer.

Until now 15 months have passed since Stan Wawrinka last experienced the feeling of recording back-to-back wins in a tournament of any sort.

The three-time Grand Slam champion was sidelined from the sport for a year due a foot injury which ended up requiring two surgeries. The first was done in March last year before he underwent another procedure in June. The surgeries occurred just four years after he underwent two other operations on his left knee. Despite the physical problems and frustration, the Swiss isn’t giving up on his career just yet and is proving why at this week’s Italian Open.

A day after knocking out 14th seed Reilly Opelka, Wawrinka battled on court for almost three hours to oust Laslo Djere 7-6(8), 3-6, 6-4, in front of a highly animated crowd. The rollercoaster battle saw him fight back from a 1-3 deficit in the deciding set. Then four match points came and went before he finally prevailed. Booking his place in the last 16 of a Masters 1000 event for the first time since Paris 2020.

“It’s helping me to keep doing what I love. Tennis is a passion. The crowd, the support, the atmosphere, these courts is the reason why after two surgeries and one year out (of the Tour) I’m still playing tennis at 37. To live those moments as much as I can and I’m enjoying it a lot,” Wawrinka told atptour.com following his win over Djere.

At 361st in the world, Wawrinka has become the lowest-ranked player to reach the third round of a Masters event since Taylor Dent at the 2009 Miami Open. In Rome specifically, he is the lowest-ranked third round player since Carrado Borroni in 1995.

The reward is a clash with world No.1 Novak Djokovic in what will be a true test for Wawrinka. The two have an extensive rivalry after playing each other on the Tour 25 times before, including the finals of the 2015 French Open and the 2016 US Open. Djokovic currently leads their head-to-head 19-6 with their last meeting taking place in 2019.

“It’s always special to play against him,” Wawrinka said of the 20-time Grand Slam winner. “As I’ve said many times I’m not where I want to be yet with my game and fitness level. I need those matches.’
“To have a chance to play against the best player (in the ATP rankings) it’s going to be really difficult for me because I think I’m not ready to compete at that level. (But) it’s what I need. I need those challenges and push myself as much as I can to keep improving.”

Wawrinka’s win over Djere is his 535th on the ATP Tour and his 24th at the Italian Masters.

By Roberto Ferri, translated by Kinglsey Elliot Kaye 

The spacecraft that landed Carlos Alcaraz on our planet has stopped in the pit stalls for a brief maintenance and will set off again for Paris in a couple of weeks. Disappointment for those who were looking forward to watching this stunning teenager in Rome who seems to be playing tennis with the same enthusiasm as a child opening his presents on Christmas Day.

Alcaraz’s rush to the peak of the rankings has come to a temporary halt in sixth position and is going to start again on 22^nd May, when Roland Garros kicks off.

It is worth reminding those who take delight in indulging in forecasts that Alcaraz has only 1300 points to defend until the end of the year. Which position is he going to occupy at the end of 2022? (The writer believes the 3^rd, the translator the 1^st).

TOP 20

Besides the rise of Alcaraz, there are few changes in the top 20:

∙         Quarter-finalists in Madrid, Rublev and Auger Aliassime gain one position; Hurkacz two.

∙         Berrettini and Ruud lose 2 and 3 places respectively. The Italian is still grounded because of his hand injury and forced to miss his home tournament in Rome; the Norwegian is still in quest of his best consistency. 

∙         Sinner and Fritz slip one step back.

NITTO ATP FINALS RACE TO TURIN

Nadal and Alcaraz are back in the first 2 positions of the ranking which considers only the results achieved in 2022.

Zverev is back, leaping from 12 to 8, Hurkacz edges into 10th. Schwartzman and Shapovalov drop out, but are just behind, ready to bounce back. Novak Djokovic recovers 70 positions in one week and moves up to No. 28.

NEXT GEN RACE TO MILAN

The gap between the points of Alcaraz and the other 7 best under 21s all together slightly shrinks. The current score is: Alcaraz 3470 vs Rest of the World 3667.

BEST RANKING

Congratulations to the 10 players who have achieved their career best:

Double applause for the French 25-year-old Quentin Halys who makes his debut in the top 100.