ROME (Italy): Nine-time champion Rafael Nadal fought back to beat Canada’s Denis Shapovalov in a three-set battle and advance to the Italian Open quarterfinals on Thursday.
Second seed Nadal won 3-6, 6-4, 7-6 (7/3) after nearly 3hr 30min on court against the 13th-seeded Shapovalov.
“It was a really difficult match, the score was against me almost all the time, but I was there, I was fighting all the time, I didn’t give away anything,” said the 34-year-old.
The Spaniard will be making his 16th last-eight appearance in Rome. It will also be his 97th ATP Masters 1000 quarter-final.
Nadal trailed by 0-4 in the opening set, and 0-3 in the second.
