Nadal Falls to Hurkacz in Rome Open Second Round

 Spain's Rafael Nadal fell to a second-round defeat in Rome ahead of the French Open - AFP
Spain's Rafael Nadal fell to a second-round defeat in Rome ahead of the French Open - AFP
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Nadal Falls to Hurkacz in Rome Open Second Round

 Spain's Rafael Nadal fell to a second-round defeat in Rome ahead of the French Open - AFP
Spain's Rafael Nadal fell to a second-round defeat in Rome ahead of the French Open - AFP

Rafael Nadal was knocked out of the Rome Open in the second round on Saturday with a 6-1, 6-3 loss to Poland's Hubert Hurkacz.

Defeat to seventh seed Hurkacz casts doubt over whether clay-court icon Nadal will play at the upcoming French Open, where he has won a record 14 titles.

Nadal has said that he will only play at Roland Garros if he feels competitive after a raft of injury problems over the last two years which have left him languishing 305th in the world rankings, AFP reported.

And the manner of his elimination in his first ever encounter with 27-year-old Hurkacz was a step backwards after reaching the last 16 in Madrid.

Nadal held his own in the first two games in the first set, which took 26 minutes to complete, but then fell away as errors handed Hurkacz points.

The 37-year-old twice gave away breaks of serve with miscued drop shots in the first set which Hurkacz closed out in 49 minutes as he blew through five straight games.

And the match was as good as done when Hurkacz, who did not drop a single service game, broke Nadal in the third game of the second set to set up a famous victory.

That level of dominance over Nadal on clay, much less a court where he has won a record 10 titles, would have been unimaginable a few short years ago.

But Hurkacz will face Tomas Etcheverry in the third round after likely ending Nadal's love affair with Rome as the 22-time Grand Slam winner looks set to call time on his career at the end of the season.



Microphones Would Have Solved Off-Court Coaching Issue, Says Fritz

Taylor Fritz oh USA celebrates his victory against Daniil Medvedev of Russia during the ATP Finals 2024 in Turin, Italy, 10 November 2024. (EPA)
Taylor Fritz oh USA celebrates his victory against Daniil Medvedev of Russia during the ATP Finals 2024 in Turin, Italy, 10 November 2024. (EPA)
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Microphones Would Have Solved Off-Court Coaching Issue, Says Fritz

Taylor Fritz oh USA celebrates his victory against Daniil Medvedev of Russia during the ATP Finals 2024 in Turin, Italy, 10 November 2024. (EPA)
Taylor Fritz oh USA celebrates his victory against Daniil Medvedev of Russia during the ATP Finals 2024 in Turin, Italy, 10 November 2024. (EPA)

Taylor Fritz believes the tennis authorities should have clamped down hard on off-court coaching rather than change the rules to allow it, saying it takes away from the sport's unique appeal.

The International Tennis Federation (ITF) will allow off-court coaching from 2025 following trials at the four Grand Slams and ATP and WTA Tour events since 2023.

Fritz, who won his opening match at the ATP Finals on Sunday, thinks organizers have been bullied into the change.

"I think as far as it should go with the coach talking to you is giving you encouragement, saying, 'great shot, good job, keep going, keep fighting' stuff like that," the American told reporters in Turin after his win over Daniil Medvedev.

"I think when it gets into strategic, like 'back up, hit it this way more, cover this', I don't think that's (right).

"I think a lot of the reason they made this rule in the first place is they were almost in a way bullied into it because people would just break the rules anyway and coach anyway."

Fritz, who is at a career-high world number five, said the simple fix would have been to use microphones in coaching boxes.

"I think there should be mics in the boxes. I think there should be someone monitoring the mics. It should be very, very strict to where if anything goes past just encouragement, immediately you're penalized," he said.

"That's how you fix it. That's how you have no coaching. Players have to figure things out on their own. That's, like I said, one of the great things about tennis.

"It would be insane if someone could come on the court for you and serve, right? So why can someone tell you what to do?"

Fritz will face home favorite and world number one Jannik Sinner in his second group match on Tuesday.