With a protected ranking due to being a 10-time Internazionali BNL d’Italia champion, Rafael Nadal got an entry into the first round of the tournament. The seedings for the Rome Open were released on the 6th of May.
The top 10 seeds included world number 1, Novak Djokovic (1), world number 4, Daniil Medvedev (2), after Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz withdrew due to injuries, Germany’s Alexander Zverev (3), Madrid Open winner, Andrey Rublev (4), Casper Ruud (5), Stefanos Tsitsipas (6), Hubert Hurkacz (7), Grigor Dimitrov (8), Alex de Minaur (9), and last year’s finalist, Holger Rune (10).
All the seeds got a bye to the second round of the tournament.
Rafael Nadal Drops His First Set In Rome
In what was another tournament to prepare Rafael Nadal physically and mentally for his return to Roland-Garros, the tournament he won 14 times in his illustrious career, he served first and won the first point. He held to 15 to lead the set 1-0.
After successive healthy service games by the Belgian Zizou Bergs, Rafael Nadal’s opponent, and Nadal himself, they came up 2-1 in the set.
Nadal then produced three break points in the set’s fourth game with powerful returns of Bergs’ serve and sledgehammer forehands giving the Spaniard the break of Bergs’ serve in the second time of asking to lead 3-1.
Berg came back swinging, back on serve after hammering Rafael Nadal’s forehand with a few heavy forehand winners to score 3-2. Rafael then gifted Berg two break points at 4-4 with a double fault and after another double fault, he surrendered another break of his serve to the Belgian.
Zizou Bergs then went on to serve out the set with a powerful overhead smash.
Nadal Steals The Second Set With Gusto
After a lightning-fast start to the second set, Rafael Nadal went on to break Bergs’ serve after it was the turn of the Belgian to make multiple double faults. This gave Nadal a 2-0 lead.
At the point where Nadal took a 40-0 lead in the first of the set, play had to be suspended for medics to take care of a fan that needed medical attention.
Zizou Bergs then tried to work his way back into the set at 3-1 by dragging the Spanish legend to a douce, and an advantage that the Spaniard saved by forcing the Belgian to go long on his forehand. Two points later Nadal took the game to lead 4-1.
Two games later, a moment of brilliance from the Belgian came when he showed incredible reflexes at the net to save a Rafael Nadal forehand shot that looked destined for his shin. However, a series of powerful Nadal forehands forced the error that gave Nadal the 5-2 lead in the set.
In the final game of the set, Rafael Nadal came out swinging with his trademark forehand shots to Bergs’ backhand like he did at the Madrid Open, which sent the match to a deciding set.
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Nadal Wins A Firecracker Deciding Set
Vintage Nadal came to the fore in the third set. The tennis legend had a moment in the set’s second game at 15-15 where he produced a series of powerful forehands peppered into Bergs’ backhand at the right far side line of the court, which culminated in a sleek drop shot Berg couldn’t reach.
Like Deja vu, the Spaniard produced a similar move at break point in the set’s third game, but this time ended it with a powerful forehand winner which he smashed behind Berg to lead the set 2-1.
At 3-2 and on Rafael Nadal’s serve, Berg clawed to a 0-40 lead and three break point chances to get back into the set. Nadal saved the first with a forehand in a lengthy exchange that forced Bergs’ shot into the net.
A powerful forehand combined with a sleek drop shot saved the second break point, and a powerful serve and volley combination sending Bergs’ return long, saved the third break point.
Four games later, Nadal fired himself to two set and match points. A forehand from Rafael Nadal landed on the line, causing Berg to hit a shot wide of the court and give Nadal his 70th victory in the Rome Open. The match ended 4-6, 6-3, 6-4. The legend is chasing a 12th title in Rome for the last time in his illustrious career.
Novak Djokovic also remains in the tournament chasing his 6th title while the defending champion, Daniil Medvedev is chasing his second.
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