- Roland Garros Qualifying Draws and Schedule for Wednesday, May 18th
- Gael Monfils Withdraws from Roland Garros
- Roland Garros Qualifying Draws and Schedule for Tuesday, May 17th
- Roland Garros Qualifying Draws and Schedule for Monday, May 16th
- Djokovic builds momentum for French Open 2022 with sixth Rome Masters Tennis title
- Novak’s Back: Djokovic Beats Tsitsipas for Sixth Rome Crown
- Rome ATP and WTA Draws and Schedule for Sunday, May 15th
- Stefanos Tsitsipas Defeats Alexander Zverev to Reach Maiden Rome Final
- Iga Swiatek Scores 26th Straight Win, Sets up Rome Semifinal vs. Sabalenka
- Rome ATP and WTA Draws and Schedule for Saturday, May 14th
- Foot injury returns for Rafa Nadal in three-set loss to Shapovalov at Rome Masters tennis
- Rome ATP and WTA Draws and Schedule for Friday, May 13th
- Naomi Osaka Splits from IMG To Form New Management Firm
- Ricky’s picks for the Rome Tennis third round: Djokovic vs. Wawrinka and Nadal vs. Shapovalov
- Rome ATP and WTA Draws and Schedule for Thursday, May 12th
Foot injury returns for Rafa Nadal in three-set loss to Shapovalov at Rome Masters tennis
- Updated: May 12, 2022

By Ricky Dimon
Rafael Nadal lost to Denis Shapovalov at the Internazionali BNL d’Italia on Thursday, but the result is really the least of his worries.
Nadal started strong and looked well on his way to a quarterfinal berth after issuing a breadstick in the first set, but his recurring foot issues became a problem and he stumbled to a 1-6, 7-5, 6-2 loss. Shapovalov took down the Spaniard for the second time (previously Montreal 2017) after two hours and 37 minutes.
“I was just trying to change something,” Shapovalov said of breaking serve right away in set two following his rough opening frame of play. “He was completely outplaying me at the beginning of the match. Obviously the first set, the beginning of the second, I was just hanging in there. Definitely really happy to turn it around.
“Obviously I’m a huge fan of his growing up. I watched him play so many times. Growing up, I wanted to play and behave like him. So I definitely super look up to him and hopefully he’s fit for [the French Open].”

With the French Open less than two weeks away, Nadal does not have much recovery time prior to his bid for a 14th trophy at Roland Garros and a 22nd Grand Slam title overall.
“I am living with an injury,” said the 35-year-old, whose foot has been a problem dating back to last year’s quarterfinal loss to Novak Djokovic on the red clay of Paris. “My day by day is difficult. I am trying hard but of course it’s difficult to accept the situation at times. A lot of days I can’t practice the proper way.
“Today it started halfway through the second set and it was unplayable for me. I don’t want to take away (the) credit from Denis that he deserves…. Today is for him.
“I started playing the match much better…so I feel sad [that it got worse]. (There were) a lot of positive things, but when this happens the rest of the positive things disappear. It’s time to accept the situation and fight.”
Despite his ongoing physical issues, Nadal battled to the Australian Open title at the beginning of this season–which completed the double-career Grand Slam. The world No. 4 won his first 20 matches in 2022 before a rib injury contributed to an Indian Wells final loss to Taylor Fritz. Nadal missed the next two months before returning last week in Madrid, where he succumbed to new sensation Carlos Alcaraz in the quarterfinals.
Shapovalov advances to face Casper Ruud on Friday in Rome. Djokovic remains a a potential semifinal opponent after the top-ranked Serb eased past Stan Wawrinka 6-2, 6-2.
Ricky contributes to 10sballs.com and also maintains his own tennis website, The Grandstand. You can follow him on twitter at @Dimonator.