Nadal Beaten by Rublev in Monte Carlo Quarterfinals
MONTE CARLO (Dispatches) - Rafa Nadal has suffered a shock quarterfinal defeat by Russian Andrey Rublev at the Monte Carlo Masters as he was overpowered 6-2 4-6 6-2, only his sixth ever loss at the tournament he has won 11 times.
The Spaniard was in danger of being thrashed when Rublev led by a break in the second set, having dominated the opener, but showed his trademark grit to battle back.
Rublev was unrelenting, however, and bludgeoned his way into a 5-1 lead in the second set after break the Nadal serve three times. Nadal held serve but the 23-year-old world number eight then finished it off with a crushing forehand winner.
It was Rublev’s first win against Nadal and the first time had managed to win a set.
The semifinals have an unfamiliar look with Rublev up against Norway’s Casper Ruud who knocked out 2019 champion Fabio Fognini 6-4 6-3. In the other half Dan Evans, who beat world number one Novak Djokovic on Thursday and followed up by knocking out David Goffin, plays fourth seed Stefanos Tsitsipas.
Nadal, 34, was playing his first tournament since losing to Tsitsipas in the Australian Open quarterfinals, but had shown no sign of rust while dropping only five games in his opening two matches.
The Spaniard was in danger of being thrashed when Rublev led by a break in the second set, having dominated the opener, but showed his trademark grit to battle back.
Rublev was unrelenting, however, and bludgeoned his way into a 5-1 lead in the second set after break the Nadal serve three times. Nadal held serve but the 23-year-old world number eight then finished it off with a crushing forehand winner.
It was Rublev’s first win against Nadal and the first time had managed to win a set.
The semifinals have an unfamiliar look with Rublev up against Norway’s Casper Ruud who knocked out 2019 champion Fabio Fognini 6-4 6-3. In the other half Dan Evans, who beat world number one Novak Djokovic on Thursday and followed up by knocking out David Goffin, plays fourth seed Stefanos Tsitsipas.
Nadal, 34, was playing his first tournament since losing to Tsitsipas in the Australian Open quarterfinals, but had shown no sign of rust while dropping only five games in his opening two matches.