Nadal Stunned, Djokovic Struggles in Italian Open Quarters
ROME (Dsipatches) -- Undisputed clay court king Rafael Nadal has suffered a straight-set loss to Argentina’s Diego Schwartzman in the quarterfinals of the Italian Open.
Nadal, seeded second, lost 6-2, 7-5 to eighth-seeded Schwartzman, who will next play 12th seed Denis Shapovalov of Canada for a spot in the final.
Top seed Djokovic labored for two hours to win 6-3, 4-6, 6-3 against German qualifier Dominik Koepfer.
The 33-year-old Serb now faces a semifinal against Casper Ruud of Norway, who beat fourth seed Matteo Berrettini of Italy 4-6, 6-3, 7-6 (5).
In the women’s tournament, Simona Halep advanced to the semifinals after Kazakhstan’s Yulia Putintseva retired with the scores at 6-2, 2-0. She is to meet ninth-seeded Garbine Muguruza of Spain, who beat former number one Victoria Arazenka.
Defending champion Karolina Pliskova, the second seed, will play fellow Czech Marketa Vondrousova in the other semifinal.
Nadal, seeded second, lost 6-2, 7-5 to eighth-seeded Schwartzman, who will next play 12th seed Denis Shapovalov of Canada for a spot in the final.
Top seed Djokovic labored for two hours to win 6-3, 4-6, 6-3 against German qualifier Dominik Koepfer.
The 33-year-old Serb now faces a semifinal against Casper Ruud of Norway, who beat fourth seed Matteo Berrettini of Italy 4-6, 6-3, 7-6 (5).
In the women’s tournament, Simona Halep advanced to the semifinals after Kazakhstan’s Yulia Putintseva retired with the scores at 6-2, 2-0. She is to meet ninth-seeded Garbine Muguruza of Spain, who beat former number one Victoria Arazenka.
Defending champion Karolina Pliskova, the second seed, will play fellow Czech Marketa Vondrousova in the other semifinal.