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Rafael Nadal: how the King of Clay fell at the Monte Carlo Masters

By Harry Floyd

MONTE-CARLO, MONACO - APRIL 20: Rafael Nadal of Spain shows his dejection during his straight sets defeat by Fabio Fognini of Italy in their semifinal match during day seven of the Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters at Monte-Carlo Country Club on April 20, 2019 in Monte-Carlo, Monaco. (Photo by Clive Brunskill/Getty Images)
MONTE-CARLO, MONACO - APRIL 20: Rafael Nadal of Spain shows his dejection during his straight sets defeat by Fabio Fognini of Italy in their semifinal match during day seven of the Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters at Monte-Carlo Country Club on April 20, 2019 in Monte-Carlo, Monaco. (Photo by Clive Brunskill/Getty Images) /
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The one and only King of Clay Rafael Nadal is OUSTED from the 2019 Monte Carlo Masters… before the finals. How did it happen?

Rafael Nadal entered the 2019 Monte Carlo Masters as the player to beat in men’s singles. Despite the surging world number one Novak Djokovic, Rafa is undoubtedly the King of Clay. He dominates this time of year on the ATP Tour and his history at the Monte Carlo Masters speaks directly to that. Nadal is an 11-time champion in men’s singles at the tournament.

The second seeded Nadal also entered the action this year as the three-time defending champ. Plus, his first few matches made it seem as though the king was back on his court.

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Italian tennis veteran Fabio Fognini met Nadal in the semifinals at Monte-Carlo. Fognini was coming off of wins over the likes of Andrey Rublev, Gilles Simon, Alexander Zverev, and Borna Coric. Like Nadal, Fognini was amidst an impressive run of tennis. Rafa was yet to drop a single set prior to his meeting with the 13th seed in the semifinals.

The world number 18 jumped out to a 3-1 lead over Nadal in their opening set. While Nadal was easily the favorite prior to the match, he quickly found himself in a deep hole. It didn’t get much better for Rafa from there…

Nadal was the first to admit post-match that he did not play well. Plain and simple, he even said that he played one of his worst matches ever at the Monte Carlo Masters. Just like the upcoming French Open, Monte-Carlo is nearly synonymous with Nadal. Fognini took advantage of his early lead though, and he never let up. Fognini even had Nadal at 6-4, 5-0 before the King of Clay managed to scrape some semblance of his game together.

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Ultimately, Fognini wins the semifinals match over Nadal in straight sets. He goes 6-4, 6-2 to complete the biggest upset of the tournament. And this tournament has seen plenty of upsets… Fognini takes on Serbian Dušan Lajović in the finals next. Both players are in the middle of dream runs this month at the Monte Carlo Masters.

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