Lob and Smash
Fansided

Nadal, Djokovic and Shapovalov prevail as Thiem, Anderson and Sock crash out in Italian Open

By Keshav Gopalan

ROME, ITALY - MAY 16: Rafael Nadal of Spain celebrates defeating Damir Dzumhur Bosnia during day four of the Internazionali BNL d'Italia 2018 tennis at Foro Italico on May 16, 2018 in Rome, Italy. (Photo by Julian Finney/Getty Images)
ROME, ITALY - MAY 16: Rafael Nadal of Spain celebrates defeating Damir Dzumhur Bosnia during day four of the Internazionali BNL d'Italia 2018 tennis at Foro Italico on May 16, 2018 in Rome, Italy. (Photo by Julian Finney/Getty Images) /
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There were several interesting matchups in the Italian Open today with numerous upsets and some great tennis. Let’s jump into it.

Nadal cruises into last 16

Rafael Nadal thrashed Bosnian Damir Dzumhur 6-1 6-0 in just over an hour to set his third round match with rising Canadian Denis Shapovalov. Nadal, who lost in the quarterfinals of Madrid looked clinical, especially on his backhand, which was deep and precise.

“After a loss in Madrid, it’s important to come back strong. And that’s what I did today. It was a positive day. I don’t know how many mistakes I did, but not much”, Nadal said in his post-match conference.

ROME, ITALY – MAY 16: Novak Djokovic of Serbia in action in his match against Nikoloz Basilashvili of Georgia during day four of the Internazionali BNL d’Italia 2018 tennis at Foro Italico on May 16, 2018 in Rome, Italy. (Photo by Julian Finney/Getty Images)
ROME, ITALY – MAY 16: Novak Djokovic of Serbia in action in his match against Nikoloz Basilashvili of Georgia during day four of the Internazionali BNL d’Italia 2018 tennis at Foro Italico on May 16, 2018 in Rome, Italy. (Photo by Julian Finney/Getty Images) /

Djokovic shows improvement

Novak Djokovic has had a tough year so far. He’s had the worst start to the season with a 6-6 win-loss at the time of his entry in Rome. Early exits in Indian Wells and Miami to players he’d beat comfortably were a worrying indicator of the season to come. His clay season, while being subpar, has also been an encouraging one. His win against Nikoloz Basilashvili was convincing, and his match against Albert Ramos Vinolas will be an important test to see if Novak can go deep in the French.

Shapovalov continues surprise clay performance

Denis Shapovalov had never won a match on Clay until his first round win in Madrid against Tennys Sandgren. His run to the semi-finals was thrilling, to say the least, and he seems to only be moving upwards. He won a tight match against Tomas Berdych (Who has had worse draws than Novak this clay season) and battled past Robin Haase in three sets to set his third round encounter and a second meeting with Nadal. While it’s unlikely he’ll win, he’s performed admirably this clay season and it’s only moving upwards for the Canadian number one.

SpicyROME, ITALY – MAY 16: Dominic Thiem of Austria smashes his racket in frustration in his match against Fabio Fognini of Italy during day four of the Internazionali BNL d’Italia 2018 tennis at Foro Italico on May 16, 2018 in Rome, Italy. (Photo by Julian Finney/Getty Images)
SpicyROME, ITALY – MAY 16: Dominic Thiem of Austria smashes his racket in frustration in his match against Fabio Fognini of Italy during day four of the Internazionali BNL d’Italia 2018 tennis at Foro Italico on May 16, 2018 in Rome, Italy. (Photo by Julian Finney/Getty Images) /

Thiem ousted by Fabio Fognini

Dominic Thiem looked unstoppable after his victory against Nadal in the Madrid quarterfinals. He was however beaten in the final by Alexander Zverev. In an intense encounter that lasted over two hours and saw Thiem smash his racquet in a rare show of anger, Fognini outlasted Thiem in front of his home crowd for the first time as he looks to face Rafa in the quarterfinals

“I beat a top clay-courter,” Fognini said. “I think I deserved it at the end. I ruined a few flowers but I think the federation can afford to buy some new ones.”

Other matches

Kei Nishikori battled past Grigor Dimitrov to reach the last 16. Dimitrov, who was leading 4-2 in the decider, collapsed as the Japanese number one displayed excellent baseline tennis to win four games in a row to seal the match at 6-4 in the decider.

Kevin Anderson, who made his first Masters semi-final in Madrid, retired in his opening match against Aljaz Bedene after the first set. While the reason is currently not confirmed, it is believed to be a thigh injury.

Jack Sock continued his poor form by losing in his second round match against Philippe Kohlschreiber.

The American is 5-8 so far this season.

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