The warning signs were there in his secound round encounter against Diego Schwartzman. Nadal had prevailed but his tennis was anything but convincing and he didn’t look like a man capable of taking on the biggest names in New York this week.
For the third time this season, Fogning found the key to overcoming Nadal but this time round it came in the most unexpected fashion: Nadal was two sets up to the good and 3-1 in the third. Somehow though the script was far from written as Fognini rallied back to win 3-6, 4-6, 6-4, 6-3, 6-4.
Until halfway through the third set Nadal was showing some of his best tennis, with strong groundstrokes and an effective serve. The latter and his backhand being a good thermometer to gauge just how confident the Majorcan is with his play. After then though the two-time US Open champion was again hindered by a worrying inconsistency which has burdened his tennis all year long and lost a two set lead for a first time in his career.
Talking of inconsistency, on the other side of the net was Fabio Fognini, who is known for throwing in the towel when the going gets tough but, for some reason, playing the Spaniard has brought out the best of the Italian who has also suffered a somewhat erratic campaign. Fognini started taking the ball on early and returning Nadal’s serve deep, which was making life increasingly difficult for him.
As the match headed into the fifth set, few could predict that a man of Nadal’s tenacity was going to let a two set lead escape. The final set was a nail-biting experience, with seven consecutive breaks of serve in what was a rollercoaster of emotions. Fognini stepped up to the baseline at 5-4 serving for the match. Would he buckle under the pressure or would he keep his composure to serve out the biggest win of his career? The Italian didn’t faulter, silencing many critics who have questioned his mental strength and thereby putting an end to Nadal’s quest, making it the first time in ten years that the Spaniard doesn’t win a grand slam in a season.
Nadal walked off the court with his head down after what has to be one of the toughest defeats of his career given how it unravelled and also how it represents yet another set back in his comeback. Once a champion, always a champion, Nadal admitted after the clash that he will “work passionately to improve”.
The whole of tennis world hopes to see him soon where he belongs, back at the very top, for he took this sport into another dimension and for that alone, he deserves the credit and benefit of the doubt until the day he hangs up
his racket.
