Draw for the 78th edition of the Internazionali BNL d’Italia has been made on Saturday.
Rafael Nadal will begin his title bid against the winner of Sinner’s first-round encounter against Ugo Humbert. He could meet Zverev for the second straight week. The German also features in a packed fourth quarter of the draw, which also includes last year’s Rome semi-finalist Denis Shapovalov, Marbella champion Pablo Carreno Busta and former World No. 4 Kei Nishikori.
Rafa’s potential route to the final:
- 1st round: Bye
- 2nd round: Jannik Sinner
- 3rd round: Denis Shapovalov
- Quarter-final: Alexander Zverev
- Semi-final: Daniil Medvedev
- Final: Novak Djokovic
If the men play to seed the quarter-final line up will be:
- Novak Djokovic v Stefanos Tsitsipas
- Dominic Thiem vs Andrey Rublev
- Diego Schwartzman vs Daniil Medvedev
- Alexander Zverev v Rafael Nadal
Our champ will return to Rome with his sights set on a 10th title run at the Foro Italico. He owns a record 63 victories at the ATP Masters 1000 tournament and will be seeking his first trophy in Rome since 2019, when he defeated Novak Djokovic in a three-set championship match.
GOOD LUCK, RAFA!
Source: ATP Tour
Thank you Rafael Nadal Fans.com so much for this report, and all your reports! I love the way you change the colours of the page elements to match his outfits too. I want his new racquet and bag… to celebrate that I am a huge fan of his. Great first match against Sinner. Letting him know who’s BOSS. Vamos!!!
Well done to Rafa, despite the really bad first serve percentage. I’m glad he managed to avoid a tie-break in the first set, even though it took a couple of tries. Some wonderful highlight-reel-worthy shots in that match and I just wished there was a crowd to applaud them. Good to see the FHDTL working most of the time, it’s generally a sign of confidence.
Fore Hand Down The Line
Congrats to Rafa! Rafa’s energy and confidence are back. His shot making too.. Serve is better but needs to be better still.
Sinner looked very unhappy and disgusted at the end. Perhaps because it looked a lot like the first two sets at Roland-Garris.
Many congrats to Rafa to win a hard fought match in straight sets. It was a bit too exciting for my heart, though. I agree David. I was surprised by Sinner’s cool handshake, and he didn’t even make eye contact with Rafa. On to the 3rd round and another chance to cheer on our Champion.
That’s what a mean about the new-gens.The cold handshake the no eye contact! Rafa is ever so humble even in defeat! They have no personality! They are missing some elements that would give them the Stardom which Rafa & Roger have!
david… good analogy! Rafa was Rafa on clay today! Sinner is the whole package… his serve is great his angles are killer! Rafa has never had the best serve but he really has improved on it. I think Rafa has matured greatly and he has learned how to shorten the points. That’s was a great match!
A very entertaining match! What a battle! What a champ! The win will give Rafa a much needed boost of confidence.
Early days Rafa. Keep your cool and don’t be scared by the power at the other end. Good serving and no short balls PLEASE! Do it to him before he does it to you!!!
Somehow he Managed to win first set after squandering 3 set points in the 10th game…Come on Rafa Up Your level n win this in straights
Phew! That was damn nerve-racking! Good win for Rafa.Sinner is definitely going to be one of the next-gens to break though. Have to admit I had to turn it off at times & peak at the scoreboard! I was watching Halep & there was really nothing visibly that happened. She must’ve just pulled a muscle in her calf and it was very painful.I thought Rafa looked stunning… A good match for him to prepare to play Dennis! Good Day for all of us! 💜💜💜Rafa!
I get nervous when Rafa uses the drop shot! I remember the Australian open with Novak that lasted over five hours… Rafa kept using the drop shot and it was not working! I’m not one to curse but I sure was that day! Have you ever noticed that you become Rafa‘s coach when he isn’t playing well? John McEnroe said the same thing… He didn’t know why he kept using the drop shot when he had the whole court open! I believe it cost him the match and that one hurt for a long time! Sorry to keep going down memory lane but it’s so good to be back with you guys!